Tsitsipas 'couldn't be more excited' despite Djokovic defeat
Sports
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he took confidence from his exploits at the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE (AFP) – Stefanos Tsitsipas said he was excited about the future and took confidence from his exploits at the Australian Open, despite losing Sunday s final to Novak Djokovic.
The third seed was bidding to be the first Greek player in history to win a Grand Slam, but fell short against the Serbian great 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) on Rod Laver Arena.
Nevertheless, Tsitsipas won 10 matches in a row to open the season and made only his second major final, a feat that he said made him proud.
"There are definitely things that I can improve and get better at, given the circumstances today. But I don t think there s any reason for me to be affected by today s loss," said the 24-year-old.
"It is a step forward. I m looking forward to scoring more points during this season, making bigger results, fighting for bigger trophies.
"I very much enjoy the way I play, my attitude on the court, my mental stability, my concentration levels.
"There s still a little bit more to add to the whole structure of my game. I couldn t be more excited to be heading towards that path."
Tsitsipas, who has talked about a new-found maturity this year, will move up to world number three when the new rankings come out on Monday.
While he lost to 10-time Australian champion Djokovic, he showed resolve throughout the tournament when he was tested.
Against Jannik Sinner in round four he kept calm and dug deep to win a brutal five-setter, and quickly regrouped when Karen Khachanov took their semi-final to a fourth set.
But in the Serbian 22-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic he admitted he met his match.
"There s nothing that I could have extracted more for today. I did everything possible," he said.
"Novak is a player that pushes you to your limits. I don t see this as a curse. I don t see this as something annoying.
"This is very good for the sport, to have competitors like him, to have champions like him.
"He s very important for us that want to get to his point one day."
