ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS

April 15, 2022

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

S. TSITSIPAS/D. Schwartzman

6-2, 6-7, 6-4

Q. You'll have to explain to us just what happened. What happened in the second set and how did you pull it around in the final set?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I think I let go. There was a moment in the match where I felt like what I was trying to do out on the court wasn't really working. He seemed to have a massive lead and a massive momentum in what he was trying to do.

I just tried to stay as much as I could. I wanted to stay as long as possible on court. That worked out very well. I wasn't really expecting much, a break down... I think I loosened up a little bit and focused on shot after shot, not too much on what I'm trying to achieve straightaway.

Q. You were 1-4 down in the final set. You hit a backhand down the line. At what stage in the final set did you really believe you could come back and win the match?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I have to say I think the very last point probably. It was very close, extremely close. I don't know. I never really felt anything.

I guess I was really close in the second set serving for the match. Didn't work out for me. That was probably the moment that I thought I had a big chance of closing it out. But Diego is Diego. I had to be Stefanos in the third set.

Kind of a payback, I would say.

Q. At some stage you have to start thinking about playing against Sascha Zverev in the semifinal. You've beaten him before, of course. What does it take to beat Sascha?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Same like today: just tremendous amount of grit, determination, attention to detail. He's one of the best players. In order to perform against players like him, I really need to bring the best of my game.