Stefanos Tsitsipas Clarifies “Not Ready” Comment After Australian Open 2021 Loss to Daniil Medvedev

Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas has opened up on the aspects of his game that he needs to work on to compete against the best.

After his semi-final rout in the Australian Open at the hands of Russian World Number 3 Daniil Medvedev, Tsitsipas conceded that he was still not ready to win a Grand Slam.

To a question on whether he was being too harsh or “unfair” on himself while making that remark, the World Number 5 told Greek magazine DownTown that he is still searching for that missing piece of the puzzle that will unlock the secrets to improve his success rate against top players in marquee tournaments.

Tsitsipas says he needs a more “complete” game to beat the likes of Daniil Medvedev

He did take down 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in a glorious fightback from two sets down in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open but conceded that he still has ground to cover for such results to not be considered as upsets.

Tsitsipas added that he needs to “work” himself up to a level where his game is more “complete” and doesn’t have chinks of the kind that showed up in his tame defeat to Medvedev.

He said he needs to build his game in a way so that he has an “upper hand” over a rival “throughout the match” and doesn’t suffer in any mid-match slump.

“I have to face these players in order to win a Grand Slam,” said Tsitsipas, in a frank admission that his game isn’t at a level to match the top stars.

Stefanos Tsitsipas concedes that he couldn’t stand up to Daniil Medvedev in Australian Open semifinal

Conceding that he was “not ready” for the Medvedev match, the Greek said, “I was not able to go out and stand against him”.

He said that he realizes that he will come up against the Russian and others in the Top-10 in future games and tournaments and has to find a way to not only play at a level similar to their but also finish on the winning side.

He said playing the likes of Medvedev makes him realize where he is lacking and what he must do to build up to a similar level of tennis.

“When I go toe-to-toe with players like Daniil, who has such a complete game, my own level goes up as well,” Tsitsipas said.

Read More: Stefanos Tsitsipas Opens Up on Being an Idol for Greek Kids After Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

In a redemption of sorts after his semi-final exit at Australian Open, the Greek made the last-four of ATP Rotterdam fell to a loss to another Russian and eventual champion Andrey Rublev.