Stefanos Tsitsipas calls the year-end championships a "celebration of the best of the best" and considers winning this tournament in high estimation, "bigger" than winning a Grand Slam.
This year, the Greek star left it late to book his ticket to Turin. Since his stunning debut back in 2019 in which he walked away with the crown, Tsitsipas has qualified for the ATP Finals in each of the last three editions. On Sunday, he'll make his fifth trip to the season finale.
Tsitsipas hasn't quite managed to hit the dizzying heights of that 2019 season in which he defeated Swiss great Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem in back-to-back matches to win the title. He has been eliminated in the group stage in each of his last three tournament participations.
However, for Tsitsipas, qualifying for the ATP Finals is cause for celebration and champagne toasting. This is the culmination of 10 months of hard work and dedication to the craft and only the top eight players who performed better than everybody else earn a seat at the table.
"It's a whole celebration. The ATP Finals is a commemoration and celebration of the best of the best in our sport. We all gather together and we get to play against each other and focus on the fact that we are the best in the world trying to fight for this mega trophy, which is a grand prize in our sport. It means a lot."
Only the cream of the crop gets to play in this tournament, which means there is less margin for error. You could play the World No. 1 in your very first match. Because there is so much at stake and an incredible level of competition right from the off, he calls the year-end championship the season's ultimate trophy.
"I would consider it probably a bigger thing than a Slam, honestly. It has big prestige and it's a very valuable asset if you're able to conquer and win it."
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