Stefanos Tsitsipas shared why he was desperate to play Roger Federer before he retired from tennis.
The Greek player is part of a group of players who had the opportunity to play against the ‘Big 3’ of Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on multiple occasions.
The 26-year-old burst on the scene in the latter stages of their careers in the late 2010s, while each member of the iconic trio were still performing at a very high level.
Stefanos Tsitsipas relished the opportunity to compete against them, especially Roger Federer, who ended his legendary career in 2022 with 20 Grand Slam titles to his name.
Stefanos Tsitsipas makes an admission about Roger Federer
Tsitsipas began to make an impression on the ATP Tour back in 2018, the year he won his first title. But he took his game to the next level in 2019 by reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final and winning the ATP Finals.
This was also the year in which Tsitsipas’ dream came true as he was able to play against Federer, who Tsitsipas has now said was his favourite player growing up.
“Roger Federer was my idol. I really wanted to catch him before he retired. It’s true. I have never really disclosed that before,” he told the Tennis Insider Club podcast.
“But I knew I was in a tricky phase with the top three still playing but them not being the youngest any more.
“So I was like at least I want to play the top three before they retire or stop, so I wanted to be in a good situation ranking-wise to do that.
“These were the guys, these were the reasons I wanted to be the best in tennis because I saw them play on TV and I really wanted to see how it feels being like them.”
How many times did Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Roger Federer?
Tsitsipas and Federer played one another four times, and each of these meetings came in 2019.
They claimed two wins apiece with the first of the Greek player’s wins coming at the Australian Open, on the way to reaching his first major semi-final, which he lost to Nadal.
His second and final win against the Swiss Maestro came in the semi-finals at the ATP Finals at London’s O2 Arena.
Tsitsipas defeated Federer 6-3 6-4 to reach the championship match, where he outlasted Dominic Thiem to win the ATP Finals crown for the first time.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
