Discovering Friendship: Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas chill collectively in Turin | ATP Tour

Nitto ATP Finals

Discovering Friendship: Dimitrov, Tsitsipas chill collectively in Turin

Former champions see one other aspect of the Nitto ATP Finals – and one another – as this 12 months’s alternates

November 14, 2024

Right here’s a bit of alternate trivia from this 12 months’s Nitto ATP Finals.

Benchwarmers Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are each former champions, triumphing on their respective debuts. They’re additionally the highest-ranked gamers on this planet with single-handed backhands.

So the Bulgarian and Greek haven’t struggled for dialog this week as they’ve handed time collectively on the Inalpi Enviornment, ready for a faucet on the shoulder to step in for a professional participant within the occasion of sickness or harm.

“On daily basis, we have been hitting collectively, and chatting quite a bit,” mentioned Dimitrov, who received the finale on debut in 2017 however has not been among the many Elite Eight since. “So for our friendship, and to expertise one thing like this total, outdoors of competing, I feel it is nice.”

Tsitsipas, who’s the one participant to win each the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals and Nitto ATP Finals (2019), has additionally loved his time hanging with Dimitrov, whom he leads 6-2 of their Lexus ATP Head2Head collection.

“We’ve got been hanging out a bit. He is a cool man. I actually like him,” mentioned Tsitsipas, who certified for the occasion the previous 5 years. “We have positively had time to debate a couple of issues and to have a bit of little bit of enjoyable. I’ve by no means seen that aspect of Grigor earlier than. As a result of on the Tour we’re simply doing our personal factor. And right here it feels prefer it’s far more chill and enjoyable.”

ATP Tour.com snagged a couple of minutes with the alternates throughout their mini media day look to ask some various questions…

ATP Tour: Grigor, you had 46 wins this 12 months and wish 41 extra to get to 500. So let’s script out an ideal situation subsequent 12 months the place you win your five hundredth match by successful an enormous title. What’s the dream situation?Dimitrov: That would be the best factor. That is good. I wish to set myself targets like that. I do not know, who is aware of the place? Most likely a Slam, it might put a pleasant spin on that.

ATP Tour: May you get 41 wins by Wimbledon with a scorching season?Dimitrov: That’s a scorching season. If I am ready to do this, if I’ve 41 wins by then, I feel it will likely be good. Then I am in enterprise. But in addition on the similar time, I at all times wish to put myself for good targets. So, to script, I do not actually wish to, however do I wish to get there? Completely.

I feel that is the half I will look ahead to within the subsequent season. To have the ability to do. Not solely proceed my kind in that approach, however with the ability to adapt, to vary a bit extra and perhaps even be a bit extra constant.

ATP Tour: What’s a fantasy match towards a retired participant you’d wish to play?Tsitsipas: I’ve plenty of them. I will select our [Laver Cup] captain, Bjorn Borg. We simply need to get uncovered to his recreation, proper?

ATP Tour: How would your single hander match up towards his double hander? Let’s say you each have picket racquets.Tsitsipas: I feel with my method, I’d handle it fairly effectively with the picket racquet. I’ve a fairly basic method.

ATP Tour: We’re unlikely to see a fast uptick in high gamers returning to the one-handed backhand. However do you assume we’re now on the backside and that we may see a gradual improve in one-handers sooner or later?Tsitsipas: I feel we sort of are on the backside. My objective and imaginative and prescient is to carry it again. I have been mentoring a couple of junior gamers. I am pushing them to go single-handed backhand. I am simply doing my half in that. I am simply making an attempt to push them as a lot as I can, as a result of I do not wish to see the shot useless. And the one approach I can do it’s by inspiring the subsequent era to decide on that.

ATP Tour: How do you promote the advantages of utilizing the one-hander?Tsitsipas: It’s a loopy shot. One profit is that you’ve got a lot better attain than a double-handed backhand. After all, it requires a bit extra power and extra work to excellent it. However the fantastic thing about it’s, it is one of many nicest pictures in tennis. You will not discover a nicer one. And I feel the mix of with the ability to mix between slice and single-hand backhand, it is a a lot simpler transition than whenever you play double-handed backhand.