Interviewed by: Blair Henley in Collaboration with Tennis Express, January 26, 2021
Stefanos Tsitsipas is a man with a lot on his plate. But that doesn’t stop the affable Greek from taking time to do great interviews, and he did just that when he joined Blair Henley in Quarantine Chronicles sponsored by Tennis Express.
Speaking from his hotel in Melbourne, where the World No. 6 is currently nearing the end of his two-week quarantine, Tsitsipas opened up on a variety of topics, including his artistic endeavors, which range from Vlogging to photography and, of late, original music. The 22-year-old also talked about his growing friendship with fellow content creator Pablo Cuevas and his deep admiration and respect for Rafael Nadal.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE
There’s even a discussion about Tsitsipas’ hair care regimen.
The rumor that Tsitsipas never washes his hair with shampoo, is it true?
“It’s not entirely true, but there is a small dosage of truth in there,” Tsitsipas said. “I have a friend who recommended I used conditioner on my hair half the days of the week, which means three or four times a week, and the rest I shampoo my hair as well, otherwise it becomes too moist and too oily I think. … don’t use only conditioner, that was just a joke.”
SHOP ALL OF STEFANOS TSITSIPAS' GEAR AT TENNIS EXPRESS!
Now that that’s settled, let’s dig into some deeper topics. Tsitsipas, who is preparing to play the ATP Cup with his Greek mates next week, says he is eager to face Nadal at the season-opening competition in Melbourne.
Henley asked Tsitsipas: what makes Rafa so difficult to beat?
“He’s someone who just doesn’t accept to give up, never,” Tsitsipas said. “He never fails to deliver, even on his worst days, with his fighting spirit, he always has his ways to go around it, and that’s what makes him very tough to beat.”
Racquet Update: Nothing to See Here
Tsitsipas says he tried new equipment in the off-season but ultimately ended up keeping the same specs. He also said he is trying to become a more aggressive, quick-strike player.
“I tried a lot to try new equipment,” he said. “I tried different racquets. I felt like the weight of my racquets could help me a little bit in my game, so I did try different strings and racquets, I tried to find new ways to become more aggressive and come to the net more often. Things like this, like evolving around aggression and becoming a quicker, more offensive player. That was the resolution.”
Tsitsipas said he ended up going full circle and is still with the same racquet he started 2020 with.
“Yeah I tried a few things, but eventually I realized that it’s something that, I’ve been playing with the same racquet for many years and it is very difficult to introduce change, and I did play at the hard court swing in the US and one or two tournaments on clay with the heavier racquet but then I realized it’s probably not as good as I thought.”
Finally Tsitsipas says he is very focused on honing his photography skills, but adds that he is fully aware that tennis pays the bills.
Stef the Creator
“I do like getting creative, because it’s another career, I see it as another career,” he said. “It’s good to combine both but obviously when I do have to concentrate more on tennis I will prioritize that first.”
Tsitsipas has recently released original music on Soundcloud, and the Greek says that quarantine has helped him find his muse.
“The time being here, locked in my room, has allowed for a lot of reflection, just a lot of nostalgic feelings that I have felt in the past, they come back and I put that into my music.”
He's focused on tennis now, but in the future Tsitsipas hopes that all his creative endeavors will lead him to artistic collaborations and a second career someday.
“I would like it to be a business, right now it’s not that serious but for sure at one point I would like it to reach a point where I can potentially collaborate with people and maybe have bigger opportunities, broader opportunities that will allow for expansion, growth, such things but money doesn’t really come to my mind right now - tennis is taking care of that, it’s a hobby that has potential for something bigger, that’s the viewpoint.”