“My capacity is big and grand, and I can feel it” – Tsitsipas feeling confident heading into Roland-Garros

Much of the talk on the men’s side heading into Roland-Garros has been centred around Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Danill Medvedev and Holger Rune, and the absence of 14-time champion Rafael Nadal. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 runner-up at the French Open, is not among the names high up on many people’s favourites list. But the Greek believes he is capable of big things and needs a few good matches early on to get into the groove in Paris.

“My capacity is big and grand, and I can feel it. I just need to get a few good first matches to keep believing that I actually can do something this year,” Tsitsipas told the media in Paris on Friday.

Tsitsipas, who also reached the final of the Australian Open in January, won 13 of his 17 matches during the European clay court season this year and feels ready for the difficult opponents that lay ahead on the red dirt.

“It’s all about getting into the mindset of the Roland Garros final that I had here. It was a great two weeks of tennis for me, and I do remember how I did things and I do remember what worked better for me during these two weeks in Paris. Of course it’s important to recreate it and stay disciplined along the journey. There are matches that are going to be difficult. I had a few comebacks that year. The year before I was down two sets to love, managed to win that first-round opener, and sailed through quite smoothly after that, reaching the semis, if I’m not wrong. That was in ’20. And then followed the next year by final in ’21. My capacity is big and grand, and I can feel it. I just need to get a few good first matches to keep believing that I actually can do something this year.”

Tsitsipas opens his campaign in Paris this year against Czech Jiri Vesely, whom he has beaten in their only previous encounter on tour, in the first round.

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