'Being in the top 10 is not a place of comfort': Stefanos Tsitsipas aims for resurgence after Wimbledon setback

Stefanos Tsitsipas hopes to bounce back in his game after an early exit at Wimbledon. Doubts loom over the Greek, currently world No. 27, who is at his lowest ranking since breaking into the top tier in 2018.

The 26-year-old Greek reached the top-15 for the first time after a remarkable 2018 season, and since then spent most of the following years in the top-10, and even routinely in the top-5. However, he has not been in good form in the last couple of seasons, seeing a decline in his results.

He recently hired Goran Ivanisevic as his new coach, who had previously worked with Novak Djokovic. The addition of the Croatian aims for Tsitsipas to regain his place among the elite, but after his injury withdrawal at Wimbledon, he received criticism from his coach for his poor form.

Nevertheless, Tsitsipas maintains his confidence that he can once again be a protagonist in the most important tournaments on Tour and climb back up to the top-10. “I’m looking to bounce back from all this because I know this is not a great place to be and I deserve a whole lot better, but I’ve also got to bring back the additional work and the sacrifices you need to put in daily to make that happen.

“But in the top five and being in the top 10 is not a place of comfort. You can never think you belong there because if you want to be there, you have to deliver,” he added. “I would like to start with smaller goals. Just seeing myself back in the big moments, which I would consider semis to finals. These are the moments that I’m dying to see myself in.”

“I would want to start from there and see how I can fight through those matches, because once you reach that point, it’s one or two matches away. And that’s where you can really fight for your dream. If you’re ending tournaments in third, fourth quarter-finals, you’re not really there, you know. So my wish is to try and work hard enough and do the proper work to try and get in that position, to try and give myself a chance again.”

The Greek decided to take a few weeks off from competition and will return at the Canadian Open, while running the risk of dropping out of the top-30 for the first time in over 7 years. Tsitsipas has a stop in Canada marked on his calendar, before competing in the Cincinnati Open, these being his only tournaments prior to the US Open – the fourth Grand Slam of the year – where he will seek to break a streak of five consecutive Grand Slams without getting past the second round.