By Alberto Amalfi | Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will face Gael Monfils at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship tomorrow, has set ambitious goals for the 2020 season.
Photo credit: Mike Frey/Rolex Shanghai Masters Facebook
Major milestones are Stefanos Tsitsipas New Year's resolutions.
The ATP Finals champion will face Andrey Rublev in the opening quarterfinal of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship tomorrow at 4 p.m. local time at Abu Dhabi's International Tennis Centre. Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who enjoys an opening bye, will play the winner of the Tsitsipas vs. Monfils match.
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Meeting with the media in Abu Dhabi today, Tsitsipas revealed he's set ambitious goals for 2020: win his maiden major, win a Masters 1000 title and crack the Top 3 in the ATP rankings.
"One of my goals for next year would be a Grand Slam title, finishing in the top three by the end of the year, making the Nitto Finals again and winning a Masters 1000," Tsitsipas said: "We have Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, who are there, and have always been there.
"And what I need to do is go the extra mile and surpass them and that's going to be the biggest challenge for next year, I need to surpass one of them in order for me to finish in the top three next year."
Last month, Tsitsipas out-dueled Dominic Thiem 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (4) capturing the biggest title of his career in an electrifying ATP Finals title match that had fans packed in London's O2 Arena chanting for both finalists at the climax.
The 21-year-old Greek is the youngest man to rule the prestigious year-end title since Lleyton Hewitt, age 20 years, 9 months defeated Sebastien Grosjean to win the 2001 ATP Finals staged in Sydney.
Tsitsipas believes he is poised to make a major breakthrough.
"I'm currently living in the best period of my life, with the best people around me," Tsitsipas said. "I really feel like this is very important for my balance and for my thinking.
Though world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and 20-time Grand Slam king Roger Federer have combined to claim 12 consecutive Grand Slam titles, Tsitsipas suggests NextGen stars are ready to break the Big 3 stronghold on Slams.
"I understand that our tennis era is changing in a way, the top-three are getting older obviously, we are the ones come from behind," Tsitsipas said. "So for me, I do have as a goal to win a Grand Slam title next year, that's for sure, but it's not a matter of life or death for me."