US OPEN

August 30, 2021

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

S. TSITSIPAS/A. Murray

2-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: If you would just give us your perspective, advancing into the second round.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Both of us gave an incredible quality of tennis today out there. It got really physical at some point. Yeah, the intensity was very high for both of us.

I knew he's not going to give up. He's someone that I respect a lot. Someone I kind of looked up to when I was younger. He's able to get the game really physical. I knew that things will get eventually difficult for me and I will have to withstand the amount of physicality that he's going to implement into the game.

Generally I think my serve was an important element to get me out of trouble at some points, give me kind of a mental lead into the game. It was a game of patience, trying to come up with the best possible solution in moments that you had to think straight and have your mind clear.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Andy was in here and he was very upset about your behavior in the match. He said he lost respect for you because he thought you were taking breaks to stall the match. What do you make of that, if you disagree with his assessment?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: If there's something that he has to tell me, we should speak the two of us to kind of understand what went wrong.

I don't think I broke any rules. I played by the guidelines, how everything is. Yeah, definitely something for both of us to kind of chat about and make sure. I don't know how my opponent feels when I'm out there playing the match. It's not really my priority.

As far as I'm playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine. I have nothing against him. Absolutely nothing.

Q. Last week in Cincinnati, your opponent was claiming that you were cheating by texting with your father while you were off court with your phone. Can you respond to that? Did you do that? Did you not do that? What was going on?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I have never in my career done that. I don't know what kind of imagination it takes to go to that point.

That's not something I want to take seriously because it's absolutely ridiculous to be thinking about that. Anyway, that's it.

Q. On tonight's bathroom break, they were timed at seven or eight minutes, which is what Andy was upset about. How can you justify taking so long for a bathroom break?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Well, I think it's clear that I took my clothes with me when I left the court. That's the amount of time it takes for me to change my clothes and to walk back to the court takes a little bit of time.

I don't know what's the rule regarding that, if there is one. But as far as I know you're allowed to have two toilet breaks to go change your clothes in a five-setter, and one in a three-setter. I followed that throughout my entire career. I've never broken any rules, so I see no reason that that's a problem anyways.

Q. What did you make about the level of the match? It was a very competitive match.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Great level of tennis. He was able to play a really good game today, make it difficult for me. At the age and state he is, it's inspiring to be seeing that.

Yeah, I'm very glad I overcame it and found a path which led to something successful today.

Q. What point of the match did you feel, if it turned in your favor? Was it after the third set or the fourth set? When did you feel that you believed a lot more in yourself, that you could close it out?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: There came a moment when I had my second break of the set, I think it was in the fourth set, where I really started feeling my confidence raising, feeling much more free on court. That was the moment. That was also the indication that I have what it takes to overcome this obstacle today.

It really got mental and also very psychological at this point. My serve, you know, was giving me lots of confidence. I was able to play the same kind of pressure from my return games which led to that kind of a confidence that I showed out there in the fourth set.

Q. (Question about the crowd booing and if he understood why that happened.)

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: No.