"New Heights" with Stefanos Tsitsipas

I want to add new goals now. I want to set new heights. . .You know what I mean? I need a few more wins. I need a few more big, difficult matches where I will have to endure those and win those.” Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 6 seed in Rome and No. 8 on tour, responding to a reporter who asked if he is now the “best candidate” to take over the No. 1 ranking

We have been here before, folks, on more than one occasion. The closest Tsitsipas came to the coveted honor was in 2021, the year he won the Monte Carlo Masters, lost a hotly contested three-set final to Rafael Nadal in Barcelona, and played—but lost—a five-set final to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.

The 25-year-old has reprised his 2012 performances in Monte Carlo and Barcelona this year, breaking out of early season hard-court doldrums. He’s been on fire at the Rome Masters, so much so that you might think he’s on a personal crusade to uphold the honor of the endangered one-handed backhand.

On Monday, Tsitsipas pummelled Rome’s No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur with such a savage display of artillery, surrendering just three games against one of the most hard-nosed baseliners working today. Sure, he went into the match with a 10-1 lead in their series, but de Minaur has also been on the upswing lately. The beatdown may have been an auspicious one at this point in a chaotic, topsy-turvy ATP season.

“I really felt that my opponent felt the heaviness and the depth of my ball,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match interview. “It gave me courage, it gave me great belief in myself that I can continue pushing in that sense. I knew that I had something good working for me today.”

Not just today. Tsitsipas has been swelling with confidence since his breakout in Monte Carlo. He’s been animated and loquacious in his media stints. His flair for the dramatic is in overdrive.

“I never saw a reason not to follow my dreams to that depth,” he said, regarding that question about the top ranking. “It would be a blessing if I was able to conquer and make that happen. It's been my dream since the first day of pursuing professional tennis.”

The obstacles posed by his rivals may not constitute as much of a threat to his hopes as running out of emotional steam before the upcoming big show in Paris' 16th Arrondissement. That’s not hyperbole: this is likely to be the most wide open Roland Garros in years.

Rafael Nadal is besieged by injury and may not even play. Novak Djokovic got bonked on the head by a water bottle in Rome and promptly lost his next outing—dropping his record this year to an anemic 12-5 with no titles. Carlos Alcaraz has a sore forearm, and Jannik Sinner pulled out of his quarterfinal in the Madrid with a bum hip. Punters are tearing out their hair trying to figure out who to bet on.

Opportunity beckons, and Tsitsipas has to be licking his chops. Unlike most of his top rivals, his arc is ascending. The back injury that ruined the end of his 2023 campaign—and affected his fortunes early this year, causing him to drop out of the Top 10—is healed.

“I was outside the Top 10 for a while,” he said. “It hurt me a little bit. So being back, it's a great feeling.”

In an unusual reversal, Tsitsipas also decided to control the damage of his recent experiment with a modified service stance. He adopted the “pinpoint” stance that has been all the rage with some elite players, including Sinner, but the Greek has abandoned it in favor of his oldie-but-goodie “platform” stance, the kind that was certainly good enough for Roger Federer through his entire career.

Tsitsipas said that such tinkering “takes a toll, mentally,” and that breaking up his established pattern ruined his rhythm. He found himself distracted and floundering, prey to doubts and over-thinking.

“Once you start thinking a lot, it's an issue because you can't concentrate on what's happening in front of you,” he said. “Your mind travels in different directions and places. . . I did something strange, which I've never done before in a match. I was trying different things during the match, which is definitely something I don't recommend to anyone doing.”

Tsitsipas added that when he resumed his platform stance, he felt renewed confidence, not least because he believes it enables him to open up the court more easily. The stance, he said, is “part of my identity.”

Two-time Grand Slam singles runner-up is also part of his identity, but Tsitsipas would be more than happy to give that up and be known, simply, as a Grand Slam champion. His chances to achieve that may be better than ever.