Tsitsipas keen on completing childhood dream at Paris Games

PARIS: Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas said the Olympics holds a special significance to him due to its Greek origins, adding that he is hoping to realise his dream of winning an Olympic medal at this month’s Paris Games.

Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, have won three medals in tennis at the Olympics, all of which came in 1896 at the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens.

“Greece and the (Olympic) Games for sure fit like bread and butter together. It is something that has been a dream of mine since I started playing tennis,” world number 12 Tsitsipas told Stats Perform in an interview published on Wednesday.

“Since I first picked up a tennis racket, I always wanted to be an athlete that gets to participate in something like that. And of course, to be aiming for a medal is something extraordinary.

“So my dream keeps on evolving, keeps on existing, and my path towards that is slowly building up. For me the best redemption is walking away from the Games with a medal.” The tennis tournament at the Olympics will take place from July 27-Aug. 4 at Roland Garros, which also serves as the venue for the French Open.

Tsitsipas has enjoyed some success on the clay courts of Roland Garros in the past, making it to the French Open final in 2021 and reaching the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam in the past two editions.

“Getting a good preparation before the games start in August is something that I’m really looking forward to,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve had great success there a few years ago at the same stadium playing the finals of the Roland Garros.

“So coming back there with that confidence and that living in the backside of my mind allows me to strive and work towards the same end goal that I ended up pulling off this amazing run that I had a few years ago.” Tsitsipas will compete in the singles at the Olympics as well as the men’s doubles alongside brother Petros.