Stefanos Tsitsipas believes he has become more experienced from the previous Barcelona Open finals against Rafael Nadal and learnt not to celebrate before the match is won.
Tsitsipas first met Nadal in the 2018 Barcelona Open final, where he lost in two sets and took just three games from the Spanish player. Then, Tsitsipas reached the final again in 2021 and gave Nadal a better match, losing 4-6, 7-6, 5-7 across a competitive contest.
On Sunday, Tsitsipas reached another career final at Barcelona but eventually fell to a straight sets defeat to Nadal's compatriot, Carlos Alcaraz. But, the Greek player said he learnt a lot from facing Nadal in previous seasons and reflected on the finals when speaking to the ATP Tennis Podcast.
"Oh the first time wasn't really fun honestly. It was fun for the sake of saying I played final against Nadal on his court. And I felt like the whole support obviously was on his side, which makes absolute sense."
Although, Tsitsipas explained that he was in a much better place to face Nadal in the second Barcelona final in 2021. During the final, Tsitsipas battled back from a set down and had match point at one stage during the third set.
However, the Greek player feels the occasion got the better of him and complacency crept in before he could seal the title.
"The first time I played him I just wasn’t ready, I didn’t pick it up yet, but the second time was the most memorable one in terms of the intensity that I brought onto the court and the experience that I had from previous encounters. He brought the best out of me that day and I was so close and it was so disappointing to finish that match with a loss."
"I felt like I was really close to capturing that match. In fact, I had a match point. And one of his shots clipped the net and it passed the net on my match point and the rally continued from there and it was something shocking for me, cause I was already getting ready to feel that emotion. But it didn't happen and it's okay. That's sports, you shouldn't celebrate too early. That's what I realized."
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