Stefanos Tsitsipas says as a kid he dreamed of winning a Grand Slam and becoming No 1 and now he is determined to make those dreams a reality.
Tsitsipas, 24, defeated Karen Khachanov in four sets to progress into his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
In the Australian Open final, Tsitsipas will be taking on Novak Djokovic.
If Tsitsipas beats Djokovic, he will accomplish two things – he will become a Grand Slam champion and also reach the world No 1 ranking for the first time in his career.
With that being said, Tsitsipas is one win away from accomplishing his two biggest tennis goals.
Tsitsipas ahead of the Djokovic final: I want to make my dreams a reality
“I remember watching it on TV saying to myself, I want to be there one day myself (win a Grand Slam and become world No 1), I want to recreate that feeling for me. I knew that’s a very long journey to get there. There are certain steps you have to take to give yourself the chance to be competing for something like this. But I very much believed it. I very much believed it. First of all, it’s your ego that speaks. You either have it or not, you know? As a kid, I was very confident. Thank God I was good in my country. Starting from that, I knew if I’m able to get out of my country and compete in other countries, European leagues, European tours, I proved myself over and over again that I’m actually good. I did finish as a junior No1. Now I want to do it in the men’s side, in the men’s professional tennis, yeah,” Tsitsipas said, per Tennis Majors.
In late 2019, Tsitsipas defeated Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters to take a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head.
Since then, Tsitsipas has lost nine consecutive matches against Djokovic.
It remains to be seen if Tsitsipas can end his losing streak against Djokovic on Sunday.