"My recovery has been insane, it's been quicker than any other player" - Stefanos Tsitsipas after Australian Open 1R win on comeback from back injury

Stefanos Tsitsipas made a winning return to Melbourne Park, opening his Australian Open 2024 campaign with a four-set win over lucky loser Zizou Bergs.

A finalist last year, Tsitsipas was not in the best of shapes coming into the year’s first Grand Slam. A back injury had forced him out of the ATP Finals at the back end of last year and he had been on a comeback trail since.

Speaking about his recovery during the post-match press conference, the Greek described it as “insane”, noting that it was far quicker than for most others.

"My recovery has kind of been insane," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "I'm talking on behalf of players that have had this injury in the past. I have spoken to a few of them. It's something that tennis players are faced with at some period of their career."

"It's an injury that's more common than I initially thought," he continued. "My recovery has been astonishing, in a way, because it's been quicker, in fact, than any other player. I have done anything that I had under my control to get back on court as soon as possible."

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"I was trying to recover" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on being ready for Australian Open during tricky pre-season

Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2024 Australian Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas also spoke about a “tricky” pre-season, saying the injury struck at a time when players were resting and gearing up to prepare for the next year.

The Greek said he was stuck in recovery, using varied equipment and machinery to try and get back in shape. That, he noted, cost him time on court.

"It's a tricky part of the year, because, you know, the year has just ended, and you usually, typically, get two weeks off," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "Then you're back into the court, working on your tennis, trying to come up with new stuff that might serve you well in 2024."

"I was away from that, trying to recover, trying to use machines and equipments that I used for these kind of injuries. I didn't spend that much time on court," he added.

Tsitsipas, however, said he was healthy now and headed in the right direction. He will take on Aussie Jordan Thompson in the Australian Open second round.

"It was a tricky part during the preseason to be faced with something like this," the Greek said. "But now I'm healthy. I'm headed to the right direction. I feel like I can keep adding to it and eventually see myself the way I was able to play at the beginning of last year."