World no. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas' bid for a third straight quarterfinal berth at the French Open was foiled on Monday, as Danish 19-year-old Holger Rune ousted him in four sets. Following the match, Tsitsipas had an interesting press conference, which included a bold declaration, per Yahoo Sports.
“I'm not worried. I know my tennis, I know my game. These kids are going to want to beat me badly because obviously they are chasing,” said Tsitsipas, who was bidding to make the quarter-finals in Paris for a third successive year.
“I'm chasing too, but I'm at a different kind of position than they are. I'm hungry to beat them too. Now that they have beat me I want payback.”
Tsitsipas, who was bested by Rune at the French Open and fellow teenager Carlos Alcaraz in Barcelona, said he wants “payback.”
The Green tennis star feels that Rune and Alcaraz are “chasing” him, which is certainly an interesting thing to say following the Roland Garros loss.
Tsitsipas did compliment Rune, who he described as a “one-of-a-kind-player”, though he also made sure to say that he can see himself playing a much better match next time out.
Could there be a budding rivalry between Tsitsipas and Rune, or the former and Alcaraz? If Tsitsipas' post-French Open loss comments are any indication, the Greek star will be looking forward to the next time he sees Holger Rune or Carlos Alcaraz on the other side of the net.