STUTTGART, June 8, 2022

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed at this week’s BOSS OPEN and he will start his Stuttgart campaign after a first-round bye against Swiss teenager Dominic Stricker.

The World No. 4 from Greece met the media representatives earlier this week and spoke about his preparations as well as his shopping experiences in the capital city of Baden-Württemberg. Tsitsipas will make his debut at the Tennis Club Weissenhof.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s great” he said. “Great to play in a real club, which makes it very personal. I like that. I’m not a huge fan of playing in places without history or created from scratch. I already explored the city, which is something I usually don’t do. It’s the first grass court tournament of the year for me and the first since last year. I’ll try to give my best.”

The 23-year-old is spending the week in Stuttgart together with his parents as well as his brother Petros. The siblings are teaming-up together in the doubles draw.

“This is very special, as we don’t play together that much,” Tsitsipas said. “We deserve to play in ATP events this year. I’m very thankful to the people who made that possible. Doubles is the most special thing, especially when I’m playing with my brother. It’s a dream come true.”

Let’s make his first time in #Stuttgart special! We are excited to announce that @steftsitsipas gets a wildcard and is going to play at the #BOSSOPEN this year. pic.twitter.com/5Y4oZinBin

— BOSS OPEN (@theweissenhof) June 3, 2022

Asked about the importance of the ATP Ranking, Tsitsipas replied: “Most important is the ATP Race for me, I never look at the other rankings. That doesn’t really justify the performance of a player. All my attention is on the Race to Turin. That’s where you see progress and where you need to be to get where you want. I try to get as many points on each surface. Different surfaces, different goals.

“I never really played on grass at home. First time was in juniors five or six years ago in Roehampton. In the beginning you don’t know what to expect. You try to swing normally, but everything is different. Bounce, swing, footwork. You have to adapt your tennis. I loved the surface from the beginning. I think it suits my game. I like coming to the net and finishing with a volley. I used to serve and volley a lot in my junior years. With time that changed because we are not in the 80s anymore and I tried to put more variety into my game.”

Tsitsipas arrived in Stuttgart on Saturday. Besides being on the practice court, what has he done since then?

“I did some underwear shopping,” he laughed and added: “I had some great ice-cream. I love ice cream! I bought a fire extinguisher for my apartment at home. I saw it in a shop and thought I needed one, just in case.”