"I haven't pushed enough yet to deserve that" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on his life-long dream of becoming World No. 1

Stefanos Tsitsipas recently spoke about the prospect of becoming the men's World No. 1. The Greek claimed that while it ranks pretty high in his list of goals, he doesn't feel he is worthy enough yet.

Tsitsipas has been going through a resurgence during this year's European claycourt swing. The 25-year-old's form took a nosedive towards the end of 2023, and after he failed to defend the points from his runner-up finish at Melbourne two years prior, he crashed out of the ATP top 10 rankings in February this year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas wouldn't go down quietly, though. The Greek won his third career Masters-level title in Monte Carlo in March, which facilitated his return to the men's top 10. He is now looking to hit top gear ahead of the French Open, which begins later this month.

The World No. 8 has shown promising signs for his Roland Garros campaign in Rome, beating credible opponents such as Cameron Norrie and Jan-Lennard Struff en route to the fourth round. Speaking to the media ahead of his next clash with Alex de Minaur, Tsitsipas fielded questions about him being one of the candidates for the World No. 1 position in the future.

The former World No. 3 said that while he was intent on "setting new heights", there was a long way for him to go results-wise before he "deserved the No. 1 spot".

"I want to add new goals now. I want to set new heights. You know what I mean? I need a few more wins," Stefanos Tsitsipas said during his press conference following his win over Norrie in Rome. "I need a few more big, difficult matches where I will have to endure those and win those. It doesn't come like this. I haven't pushed enough yet to deserve that spot. I know what it takes to get there. I'm still patient and I'm waiting for my moment."

He did maintain, however, that becoming the top-ranked singles player on the ATP Tour had been his dream since he turned pro.

"I'm still far away. Yes, I would say so. Why not? I've been thinking towards that direction already for a few years," he added. "I never saw a reason not to follow my dreams in that depth. It would be a blessing if I was able to conquer and make that happen. It's been my dream since the first day of pursuing professional tennis."

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Stefanos Tsitsipas on feeling negative emotions during Italian Open 2R win: "I don’t think I felt this way in a long time"

Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled to keep his emotions in check during his second-round match against Jan-Lennard Struff at the Italian Open on Saturday (May 11). He was so flustered with his performance during the first few games of the match that he smashed his racquet.

While the Greek was eventually able to win 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-4, he admitted during his post-match press conference that he was not in a good mental state during the encounter.

"I don’t think I’ve had a match in my life where so many negative emotions overtook me," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "I kind of felt in a weird, tricky situation. I didn’t expect that comeback & that win in the end."

“I didn’t really know what I was doing out on the court until mid second set. I felt really lost out there. I don’t think I felt this way in a long time. It felt like I couldn’t sink in with the ball. Everything felt odd in terms of getting the depth I wanted. I managed to figure out a way to make it work for me. It was really difficult dealing with emotions like this."