Tsitsipas Reveals ‘What I’m Fighting For’
Stefanos Tsitsipas leaves Lyon with his seventh ATP Tour title and a huge dose of confidence. The Word No. 5 beat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-3 in Sunday’s final, breaking the Brit three times and needing just 69 minutes to seal the deal.
“It’s a great result,” Tsitsipas said in press. “I love it here. It was a good week for me, played good tennis, played at the top of my game in some of the matches. For sure I can move to the French Open with a little bit more confidence and get to play more matches.”
The Greek has won two titles in 2021 and leads the ATP Tour with most wins at 33. He has also increased his first-place lead in the FedEx ATP Tour Race To Turin to 440 points. He has 3,360 points while Novak Djokovic is in second place with 2,920.
“That’s what I’m fighting for; that’s where most of my attention is right now,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s a priority and I’m trying to gain as many points in the Race To Turin this year. It’s going well so far. I’ve been playing good tennis. I’ve been consistent and that has helped me be where I am right now.
“I have a goal of achieving 7,000 or 8,000 points this year. I think it’s a good goal and with this consistency, I see no reason not to get there.”
Norrie was playing in his third ATP Tour final and second of 2021. He struggled to challenge the Greek after having a great week with straight-set wins over Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov.
“I think I also have a little more experience in the finals so that helped for sure,” Tsitsipas, who is 5-0 in ATP 250 finals, said. “And I made my shots and played unpredictable in moments where he was expecting something else.”
He’ll next head to Paris to prepare for Roland Garros, where he’ll be the fifth seed.
“I’ve been feeling my game well; I’ve been using my patterns really well,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve been pressing a lot with my serve. Just consistent on court, consistent with my power and the way that I attack and way I [take] risks. I think it would be considered my best [preparation] so far pre-Grand Slam and now all the attention is on next week. I love playing in Paris. I find it mesmerising.”