Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have reached the semis at Roland Garros and both of them have said that right now they believe that they can finally win a Grand Slam.
In Paris, Tsitsipas had a terrific win, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5. He was very patient, hitting the balls deep. When he has a chance, he went for the winners. He didn’t do that at every opportunity, but he knew he could pound it.
“I feel privileged that I’m in that position, and I feel obviously I’ve put in a lot of daily hard work has been a key element of me being here. But my ego tells me ‘I want more.’ ” Tsitsipas said.
Last year at the 2020 U.S. Open final, Zverev was close in the fifth set, but he could not find the finish line against Dominic Thiem. The German backed away from going for his shots while the Austrian was fearless and won. This time in the quarters in France, he easily won 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The 24-year-old Zverev has won some big titles, taking numerous ATP 1000s and ATP Finals. He has won on clay and on hardcourts. But, holding him back was getting angry at himself. Now, he is so much smarter.
“Obviously, the Grand Slams are the tournaments that we want to win the most,” Zverev said. “Before, maybe, the last few years, I was putting too much pressure on myself. Before Medvedev and Tsitsipas arrived, I was seen as this guy that was going to all of a sudden take over the tennis world. I was not very patient with myself, which I feel like now, maybe, I learned how to deal with the situation a little bit better.”
Tsitsipas is 22 years old and now knows he is more comfortable with his forehand and his returns. His backhand can be flat, or he can swing very hard. He really likes his progress.
“I’m playing good. That will show by itself,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a player that thinks they can’t win the tournament. I’m pretty sure that they all can play well. If someone could grant them the tournament, I don’t think that’s a thought. Of course, I’m playing well. I think if I can keep repeating the process, the everyday hustle that I put in, for sure there’s going to be a reward, why not?”
Why not, that is for sure.
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How about this? Usually at the Grand Slams, in the semis, there have been at least a couple women players who were in the top 10, or how about No. 15? Not now, this week. All four are in their first major semifinal.
Yes, all four players have looked excellent during the matches, but before that, none of them have won a huge tournament. So, on Thursday, it will be the No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova versus the No. 85 Tamara Zidansek; and then the No.17 Maria Sakkari against the No. 33 Barbora Krejcikova.
Going into Paris, many people, the journalists and the fans, would have thought that the top 10-ers would have reached into the semis, such as Iga Swiatek, Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and others. But they lost or withdrew [Osaka]. So, now it will be the new, new players.
Will they be calm, or super nervous? All of them — Pavlyuchenkova, Zidansek, Sakkari and Krejcikova — will be shaking early, but when they can attempt to go for it, and read it, then they can be competitive. Two of them who wins it will start thinking about the final at Roland Garros on Saturday. Maybe they won’t sleep, but take a nap, and dream before they start. A good dream.
Thursday update: Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the final when she took down Zidansek 7-5, 6-3.
