"I take Djokovic as an example" - Stefanos Tsitsipas inspired by Novak Djokovic's ability to keep improving, calls Serbian great his 'role model'

Stefanos Tsitsipas is using his heartbreaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Australian Open final as motivation to keep improving as a tennis player, gaining inspiration from the Serbian legend himself. Tsitsipas highlighted Djokovic's ability to keep pushing the bar of peak performance in tennis higher with each passing year, calling the Serbian great his "role model."

Just over a week ago, Tsitsipas lost his second career Grand Slam final, a 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-7(5) defeat to Djokovic in the Australian Open final. Tsitsipas has lost both his Grand Slam finals to Djokovic, with the first of those losses coming at the 2021 French Open.

After allowing the emotions of his Australian Open loss to settle, Tsitsipas wants to make the most of his learnings from observing the now-22-time Grand Slam champion. The Greek star believes Djokovic produces an even higher level of tennis each time it seems impossible to do so.

"I take Djokovic as an example, who for the last few years we thought he had reached the highest level that tennis has to offer and every year he shows that he is even better than the year before," Stefanos Tsitsipas said in a recent interview with Sports DNA.

"This inspires me and I have him as a role model at this time."

In tune with Tsitsipas' goal of emulating Djokovic is the Greek's search for perfection. Having said that, the world No. 3 also stated his belief that perfection does not exist in its entirety, but he aims to get as close to it as possible.

During a successful Australian Open campaign, Tsitsipas' serve and forehand combination were his most lethal weapons and the 24-year-old revealed the technical improvements he made in the pre-season that helped him get better, particularly with the serve.

"Mechanically some small things I've changed that help me find the corners of the court better, mainly in serving placement. I have improved it a lot and it comes from the shafts of the arm, the elbow," Tsitsipas said on the same.

"They are small technical changes that I made in the preseason and I have dedicated myself to them to reach perfection if possible, or as close to it as possible because I don't think there is perfection.

"Now I'm very relaxed in my service movement" - Stefanos Tsitsipas elaborates on improvements in his game

Stefanos Tsitsipas in action at the 2023 Australian Open

Further elaborating on the sudden drastic improvement in his serving capabilities and consistency, which was on full display during the Australian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas feels that is a result of the work he has put in on improving his service motion and his tactics specifically on the second serve. The Greek player stated that he now feels a lot more relaxed than he used to while preparing to hit a serve.

"Now I'm very relaxed in my service movement," Stefanos Tsitsipas said on the same. "I've put a lot of work into the comeback as well. Especially on the second serve I pull back more than I used to, when I was trying to get the ball as early as possible. And that tactically is in my arsenal."

He also highlighted his increased level of confidence in his forehand and how that allows him to play more aggressively and back up his one-handed backhand, which has always been one of his favorite shots.

"It's just that right now I'm very confident coming back from further back with my forehand, so I'm pushing and aggressively coming into the point from the first return," the former French Open finalist added.

Stefanos Tsitsipas returned to action quickly after the Australian Open final, representing Greece at the Davis Cup this past weekend. The Greek No. 1 helped his team beat Ecuador 3-1 in the World Group 1 play-off tie, winning both his singles matches in straight sets against Alvaro Guillen Meza and Andres Andrade, respectively.