Tsitsipas happy to defend title at 2020 ATP Finals

After winning his first ATP Finals title last year, Stefanos Tsitsipas will try to prove everyone that he can defend such a big title this year, even though the line-up is very strong.

From November 15th - 22nd, 8 best tennis players in the world will meet in London. For Stefanos Tsitsipas it will be a big task to defend his title after he topped his group with Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev last year and defeated Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem to lift the trophy. This year, he will be facing the only man that defeated him last year, Rafael Nadal and his final opponent Dominic Thiem in the group stage. He will also meet Andrey Rublev as the fourth participant of the group.

“Every year I get to experience being back here is thrilling,” Tsitsipas said ahead of the tournament. “It’s like a meeting spot for those that had a good year, just to be back here and celebrate their hard work, their dedication to the sport, and I’m very privileged to be part of it.”

“Rafa is one of the biggest fighters, one of the biggest icons of our sport, and having him in my group is an opportunity to go out on the court and try my best and fight my best against him,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s the favourite, we all know that. He has been more years on the Tour, he has been playing great tennis."

“But I’m more young than him, and I haven’t had that much experience. So I think playing against him is always an extra opportunity to prove myself, and be out on the court and try to find ways to win.”

“Dominic, we know each other for a long time. We are good friends, on and off the court. He has contributed a lot to my success, and he has inspired me in many ways,” Tsitsipas said. “[Andrey] is one of the most difficult opponents and for sure has been in a great run these past couple of weeks, playing a lot of finals and having a lot of titles in his pocket. So I’m sure he’s going to be in good shape and good form psychologically, mentally ready for his first appearance.

“They’re all difficult opponents, there are no easy opponents in this tournament. We elevate tennis, all of us. I think we’re going for a good show.”

“I’m happy that I’m able to move more freely and less conscious of my pain. So it’s a positive feedback, and a positive thing to have, [because] this injury kind of mentally drained me,” he revealed, adding, “I was not quite sure if it’s the right thing to do, to keep playing, but I proved that the mind can do anything if you set yourself a goal and you want to pursue it. Right now, I’m feeling way, way better than I did in Vienna. I hope my leg stays the same.”

“I’m grateful that I get to be among the eight players and be here to defend my title. I know it’s not easy to be in this position, and I’ve really worked hard for it,” Tsitsipas said.

“[Defending my title] would be the best thing that could happen this year for me. But for sure, we have to take it step by step, one step at a time.”