Why did Stefanos Tsitsipas lose to Daniel Galan in the first round of the 2022 US Open?

Stefanos Tsitsipas became a hot topic on the first day of the US Open after losing to Daniel Galán of Colombia in the first round of the tournament. The defeat put an end to the Greek’s dream of reaching the world number one spot in New York.

In the press conference after the match, Tsitsipas confessed that he arrived in New York with the hope of reaching the top spot, but admits that he has now wasted a great opportunity.

Dreaming of number one

“I was very motivated and excited before the US Open started because I knew that in this tournament I could get closer to number one. It would be very strange if it hadn’t crossed my mind, because it’s something I’ve wanted since I was a child and I know it was my opportunity to take that step forward,” he said.

“Things didn’t go as planned. Sometimes you have to let it go, you don’t need to think about it anymore and not get too confused, but at the same time it’s difficult because you had a great opportunity ahead of you and you don’t want to waste it.”

Despite this setback, the 24-year-old says that he will continue to try to finish the year among the top three.

“I think my chances now are a little less. The margin is not as small as it will be after the US Open, but I will keep trying and adding ranking points as much as I can until the end of the year. I want to finish the year in the top three and I have more opportunities ahead of me.”

All praises for his opponent

Tsitsipas applauded Galán’s great game and admitted he had problems with his service.

“My arm was quite tense, nothing came out. My serve was very slow today,” he said. The Greek added that the Colombian returned his serves very well.

“I’m sure it has to do with the altitude in the area where he grew up, that has helped him with these things. I thought when I started playing with him it was because of that. He did a great job and dominated the match. I just couldn’t get into it.”

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Tsitsipas: He was world class, I was an amateur

Tsitsipas was very critical of the game he displayed in the match and hopes to recover soon from this hard blow.

“Galán played like a world class and I like an amateur, it’s not nice to say it but it was like that. I was very well prepared, I had trained very well and I played good games against very different players.

“I’ve never had a good story here at the US Open but I like it a lot in tournaments. I must work on negative thoughts and not let them affect me and get into my head. I’m better than that, I’m a much better tennis player but I haven’t shown it today.”