Stefanos Tsitsipas dealt with some back issues at the 2023 World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi and confirmed that he didn't quite get the preparation he wanted before the new season.
Tsitsipas has long enjoyed successful starts with the new season due to various factors. One major factor is that he took the offseason seriously and worked very hard to get ready for the new season.
That preparation and him generally loving to play in Australia with the big Greek community showing love usually helped him start fast. This year might be a bit different because Tsitsipas is still dealing with the back issue.
It bothered him heavily during the ATP Finals, resulting in a withdrawal from the event, and he skipped action in Abu Dhabi as well.
In talks with the media after the event, Tsitsipas said he is feeling better, and his back is pretty much healed, but he didn't have the kind of offseason he hoped to have. How that impacts his Australian Summer remains to be seen.
I wasn’t able to get the preparation that I actually needed – I’m talking about all the weeks (I was hoping to get). However, I did spend quality time with my family and I did spend a few weeks trying to find a solution to all of this [physical problems] and I think it paid off, going for many days in a row into rehab and committing myself to the process of absolute healing.
As the Australian Open approaches, Tsitsipas also reflected on last year's run. It was the best he's ever had as he made it to the final but unfortunately, Novak Djokovic proved better.
It's tough to beat him in Melbourne, but Tsitsipas certainly earned confidence from this run and hopes to achieve something similar this time around.
I can definitely gain confidence from that. However, I don’t reminisce and I don’t think too much about what happened in Australia this year. My whole plan is to reboot myself and get myself going for something absolutely new this season with a different quality of tennis I may say.
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