Stefanos Tsitsipas not "worried or afraid" of younger players

Stefanos Tsitsipas recently remarked that while he respects the youngsters in the sport for their abilities, he intends to stand tall and fight against them in the coming years.

Although he is yet to win a title in 2023, Tsitsipas has had a decent run this season with a win-loss record of 23-7 so far. He reached the final of the Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic beat him in straight sets, and the final of the Barcelona Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

Tsitsipas' best surface is widely regarded to be clay, where he has won both his Masters 1000 titles (in Monte-Carlo). He has also finished as the runner-up at the French Open, Madrid Open and Italian Open.

In the 2023 clay swing, Tsitsipas has lost to Taylor Fritz at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz in Barcelona, and Jan-Lennard Struff in Madrid. He has a 0-4 record against Alcaraz and 0-2 against Rune.

Speaking to the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport a few days ago, Tsitsipas weighed in on the changing landscape of men's tennis. With the focus shifting from the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic) to players like Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner, the Greek stated that he was not afraid to challenge them. He also stated that their rivalry will flourish over the next few years.

"I'm not worried or afraid," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "Although these younger guys are a fantastic stimulus, I'm still young too. We will have the opportunity to challenge each other for a long time and it will be very exciting. I certainly won't lower my head even though I respect them a lot."

Tsitsipas also reiterated his goal of becoming World No. 1, stating that he is ready even though he knows it's not easy.

"The number one [ranking] is in my mind, even if I know it's not easy, I'm ready. In Monte-Carlo, I didn't play up to my expectations. In Barcelona, Alcaraz was better than me, but in Madrid, I felt the right sensations were flowing, even though I lost against Struff," he said.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas to face Nuno Borges in Italian Open R2

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitspas was the runner-up at last year's Italian Open, with Novak Djokovic beating him 6-0, 7-6(5) for the title. This year, the Greek will begin his campaign in Rome against Portugal's Nuno Borges in the second round on Saturday, May 13.

Borges comfortably defeated Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-1 in his opening match.

This will be the first tour-level meeting between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nuno Borges. The winner will face either Lorenzo Sonego or Yoshihito Nishioka in the third round.