Stefanos Tsitsipas's lifelong goal is to become the men's World No. 1, but he recently stated that he is unlikely to fulfill that wish anytime soon.
Tsitsipas has been ranked as high as World No. 3 in his career and is undoubtedly the best Greek tennis player ever. He has won 11 career titles, including the 2019 ATP Finals on debut.
With over 300 match wins on the ATP Tour and twice finishing as runner-up in Grand Slam finals, the 25-year-old has established himself among the elite tennis players of his generation.
Tsitsipas has previously admitted to becoming obsessed with the number one ranking, preferring to reach the summit of men's tennis over winning a Grand Slam title.
But in a recent interview after defeating Cameron Norrie in the third round of the Italian Open, the man from Athens insisted he has not merited being Word No. 1 just yet because he "hasn't pushed enough."
"I want to add new goals now. I want to set new heights. You know what I mean? I need a few more wins. I need a few more big, difficult matches where I will have to endure those and win those."
"It doesn't come like this. I haven't pushed enough yet to deserve that spot. I know what it takes to get there. I'm still patient and I'm waiting for my moment."
Despite ruling himself out of becoming No. 1 soon, Tsitsipas believes he has the blueprint to get there and that he has not lost his sense of direction. He backs up his claim by describing how leaving the world's Top 10 in February hurt so much that he was motivated to get back in.
"I'm still far away. Yes, I would say so. Why not? I've been thinking towards that direction already for a few years. I never saw a reason not to follow my dreams in that depth. It would be a blessing if I was able to conquer and make that happen. It's been my dream since the first day of pursuing professional tennis."
"I'm happy that I got back into the top 10. Let's start from there (smiling). I was outside the top 10 for a while. It hurt me a little bit. So being back, it's a great feeling."
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