Stefanos Tsitsipas has praised fellow ATP player and two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray as one of the greatest grass-court competitors of all time.
Murray has a strong history on grass courts and has taken on some of the world's best on this surface. The 35-year-old reached three Wimbledon finals during his career and lost his first against Roger Federer in 2012 before notching two titles, beating Novak Djokovic in 2013 and Milos Raonic in 2016.
However, Murray's recent injury struggles have slowed his momentum and form. The former world number one underwent two hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, leading to a metal hip replacement in his second surgery. He even considered retirement due to the physical demands of recovery in 2019.
As a renowned fierce competitor, Murray has battled on and continues to compete at the top level of the ATP. The 35-year-old has also started his 2022 grass-court season with two wins at the Stuttgart Open against Christopher Oconnell and Alexander Bublik.
Next up for Murray is the top seed at this event, Tsitsipas, who is ranked fifth in the ATP standings - more than 50 places above his British opponent. While the Greek player comes into this clash as the overwhelming favourite, he has maximum respect for Murray and he will not underestimate the three-time Grand Slam winner when they meet in Stuttgart.
"Andy is one one of the best grass players. He's been out injured but he's been getting some good wins against some of my peers. His game is absolutely there, he's one of the favourites here."
Tsitsipas will be hoping to translate a solid clay court season onto grass in 2022. The Greek player won the Monte Carlo Masters in April and reached the Italian Open final in May but lost to Novak Djokovic. There were good signs in Tsitsipas' opening round win over Dominic Stricker in Stuttgart, which the Greek won in straight sets.
Following that result and ahead of his next round clash with Murray, Tsitsipas backed himself to keep producing good results on grass this season. However, the 23-year-old also wanted to calm expectations, stating that a period of adaptation from clay court season is required.
"He's had a lot of grass battles and a lot of good wins. My game is built for grass courts, I can 100 per cent have good results on this surface. But it might take a bit of time."