Number three seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece continued his stellar run at the ongoing 2023 Australian Open and booked a berth in the semi-finals after a dominant win over 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic. Tsitsipas downed Lehecka in straight sets on January 24 (Tuesday) and once again proved why he is one of the favourites to clinch his and the year's first Grand Slam title. Greece's superstar 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to set a semi-final showdown against number 18 seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia.
Tsitsipas has no chip on his shoulder about how much hype he receives, despite becoming the youngest player since Roger Federer to reach three successive Australian Open semi-finals.
In the process, the 24-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year, matching the feat of the great Federer between 2004 and 2006.
The world number four also became the fourth male player in the Open Era to stay unbeaten in his first six grand slam quarter-finals after Rod Laver, Patrick Rafter, and Andre Agassi.
However, Tsitsipas insists he is not worried by how much attention his accomplishments get.
When asked if no longer being talked about as one of the next generation's figureheads meant he now has a chip on his shoulder, the Greek replied: "No, I don't really think about it.
"Every single opponent has his own background, his own sort of dynamic they put out on the court.
"I kind of forgot that Jiri today was a next gen player. Never thought about it.
"I approach every single opponent of mine with the same mindset. I never put labels on them. Each and every match that I get to play against them is a new chapter in my book."
Tsitsipas also believes he has already been through the early stage of his development, and now views himself as one of the maturer players.
"I passed through this myself. At some point it fades out a little bit 'cause you are an adult," he said.
"I had my fair share of that. There's no other 'gen' after that, it's just adulthood.
"It's mindset. It's clearly mindset. Nothing more."
Asked if this could be the tournament in which he breaks his grand slam duck, Tsitsipas said: "I'm feeling great with my tennis. I don't think I felt so good in a long time.
“I will definitely say yes to it. I've said it, I'm a different player, playing different. My mentality is different. When I'm out on the court, I don't really think of negatives, to be honest. I just go out there and play the game.”
(With Opta inputs)
