Stefanos Tsitsipas fires warning to Carlos Alcaraz after being taunted by Spaniard
Stefanos Tsitsipas will start as underdog against Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has vowed to make sure Carlos Alcaraz won’t be ‘comfortable’ when the pair clash in their French Open quarter-final match on Tuesday. The Greek star is still chasing a first Grand Slam crown, and was made to work by Italian opponent Matteo Arnaldi on Sunday before coming through in four sets.
And he will start as the underdog against the third seed, who looked in sublime form in his own last-16 clash to easily beat Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Spaniard has previously taunted Tsitsipas by publicly saying he enjoys playing against him, having won all five of their previous meetings.
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But in his on-court interview after being Arnaldi, Tsitsipas warned his rival he’ll be out to set the record straight at Roland Garros. “He’s said in the past he likes playing against me, so I hope he likes it a little bit less this time,” he said.
“I hope I can get him to that stage of feeling that it’s not so comfortable playing against me. That’s my goal gonna into the match. I hope there are chances on my side I can utilise.”
The 25-year-old also claimed he hadn’t been aware he had Alcaraz up next, saying he didn’t spend time studying the draw. But in front of a passionate Parisian crowd, he said he was relishing the prospect of taking on the current Wimbledon champion.
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“I hope I can create an amazing atmosphere like today,” he continued. “These are the moments I’m waiting for as a tennis player.”
Tsitsipas came close to glory in France three years ago, going all the way to the final. There, he took on Novak Djokovic and contrived to blow a two set lead in his loss to the Serbian.
And he raised eyebrows this week with his decision to play in both doubles events, the men's with brother Petros, and the mixed doubles with girlfriend Paula Badosa. But despite his packed schedule, Alcaraz has actually defended his opponent’s decision.
“If I had a girlfriend and If she asked me to play the mixed one, I would have to evaluate many things to be able to decide,” he said, after his win over Auger-Aliassime.” If everything is good, why not?”
Tsitsipas is currently scheduled to play twice on Monday before he takes on the Spaniard. The winner of that clash could potentially meet Djokovic at the semi-final stage.
