S. TSITSIPAS/M. Damm
6-4, 6-4
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Q. How were you feeling on the court this morning?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Very good. I started very well. The pressure was multiplying, the more I was getting to find my game. I felt like my shots were working very well.
He seemed like he was trying to, like, rush points too much. So I stayed in there and tried to make him play. I tried to make him work for the point.
The way I was building those points was very efficient, and my serving was, especially my first serve today, worked excellent.
Q. You talked after the match about resilience. Did you have the feeling when you were in the match that you wanted to play point by point? And, you know, after a double fault, it was an ace.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I need to focus and concentrate, and that's what I was trying to do out there today, trying to keep it locked in as much as I could and not let any distractions get in the way.
You know, tennis is about milliseconds, getting properly behind the ball and being constantly well positioned. So I need to focus on my routines. I need to focus on how to do that in the best possible way.
Q. And people are always reminding you that it would be your first victory in Montreal on the main draw. Was it a bonus pressure for you?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Well, at least I can answer you I've done it in all Masters 1000s, right? If I'm correct, yes. That would be it. In all Master 1000s within a week.
Yeah. I did it. I want more, obviously. I'm not happy with just one win.
Q. And do you feel like with your new coach it's like a new chapter for you?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Well, it's a chapter that should have started a long time ago. I guess I was too patient with my time and too nice with handling certain things, to take so much time to proceed with the change. But it's how life works. Certain things come at a certain time.
I'm very Buddhist in that sort of philosophy. So now we are here, and we are doing it the way I like it. I want it to be done like that. I want it to be done with a coach that I am happy with right now. And he's someone that I trust.
Patrick is also someone that is supervising as well. So these are the people that have been with me since day one, people that believe in the academy, people that want the best for me, and that's the most important, working with those that will bleed for you.
Q. A lot of other players are trained by their father. It adds like an emotional charge, I guess, when you want to --
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: There aren't a lot of players that are coached by their father, to be honest, especially today. If I was to count them, there would probably be three, or maximum four. Not that many.
Q. Okay.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: So that would still be like minority of players coached by their father. The only one I can think of is Zverev, Shelton and --
Q. Zverev.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Zverev, Shelton. And who else is coached by their father?
Q. Carlos.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Alcaraz? No, he is not.
Q. Auger-Aliassime right now.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Partly. Not really. You don't see it very often. It's a heavy relationship. And for some it works, which is great. Like for Zverev and Shelton, it works.
And sometimes I actually wish, to be honest, I see Shelton's father. He's an example to me of how a father should be around his child playing competitive tennis. Like he's the perfect example, and I see him, and I'm like sometimes wishing things were like that, but unfortunately they aren't.
But I am a big fan of Shelton. I am a big fan of his father and the way their dynamic works. So I see it as a great example.
Q. What role did it play getting back to victory during the summer from a mental perspective?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Training well, eating well. These are important things. Not that I was not eating well before. It's just like doing all -- every single aspect of my life in a very disciplined manner-oriented way.
So I was very focused and very determined to do things the right way. I've been training very hard at the academy, hours at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy of training, training, training, building, building, building and trying to improve my sleep schedule as well, which was a little bit of an issue before.
So I'm not a party guy. I don't party or anything. But I like to stay up late sometimes. My biggest inspiration comes late at night. I'm that type of a person. So started sleeping a little bit earlier helps me a little bit, too.
Q. And about what happened in this tournament, basically you didn't know that you were going to play. You thought you weren't going to play, and then you had to play qualis. How did it all come together?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: There was about 75 percent of it that I thought I'm not going to play, and then there was a little hope somewhere, 25 percent, where I thought maybe I'd get lucky and I'd get an alternate in qualifying.
It ended up working. So it was great to see that. I was not very familiar with the process of how that works because I haven't played qualis in the Masters 1000 either in a very, very long time or even never before. So I don't really know how it works, if you're in qualifying, if you have to actually sign in, which I was not aware of.
But we're here now. I'm glad I'm getting to play my second round match, and I've come a long way. I'd say that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports