How Stefanos Tsitsipas Became Tennis’s Mr. Personality

4 days earlier than he started his wonderful, drama-filled run to the finals at Roland Garros, Stefanos Tsi­tsipas took the courtroom at a suburban Paris nation membership and began circling his arms, reaching up to now that he regarded much less like a 22-year-old tennis star and extra like a Ferris wheel that had simply been turned on and was gently selecting up velocity. In the present day was shoe-test day. Tsitsipas was carrying a brand new pair of black sneakers from Adidas, his sponsor; black shorts; and a white T-shirt that learn terre battue (“clay courtroom,” kind of, and a French Open slogan). His shoulder-length, sun-streaked curls had been getting in his face, so he referred to as for a headscarf. Whereas he waited, he took out a pouch and ate some form of goo. Quickly Tsitsipas’s coach—his father, Apostolos—had arrange a quartet of cones, and Tsitsipas was hitting down-the-line forehand after down-the-line forehand, an train designed to enhance his margins, cratering the pink grime in order that it regarded just like the balls had been touchdown on the moon. “He at all times needs to enhance, it doesn’t matter what he’s doing,” Nick Tzekos, Tsitsipas’s agent, stated, wanting on. “I used to be with him yesterday, and he was like, ‘I’ve created my very own font!’ ”

Sure, that’s proper: his personal font. Along with being the third-ranked tennis participant on the earth, the youngest particular person within the ATP High Ten, and the topic of numerous doubtful nicknames (the Greek God, Greece Lightning), Tsitsipas has, apparently, been discovering time to get into graphic design. Unusually for an expert athlete of his caliber, he cultivates extracurricular skills and varied passions, remaining open to the world from the closed circuit of his sport. “I assume development begins from exterior the tennis courtroom, after which it goes into my tennis,” he says.

Born in Athens in 1998, Tsitsipas grew up within the seaside suburb of Vouliagmeni. He picked up tennis as a three-year-old on the native membership, the place each his father and his mom, Julia, a Soviet-born former skilled participant, labored as instructors. Stefanos is the eldest of 4 Tsitsipas youngsters: His brother and doubles associate, Petros, not too long ago joined the ATP tour, whereas their youthful siblings, Pavlos and Elisavet, are on the junior circuit. From childhood, Stefanos was completely different: quiet, snug in solitude, as introverted as he’s personable now. “In some unspecified time in the future, the lecturers had been anxious, they usually even requested me if possibly we must always do some form of particular check,” Apostolos remembers, including, “He’s a dreamer.” In the present day Tsitsipas’s quirky disposition is one among his greatest belongings, along with the blazing forehand, a killer serve, and strange versatility on all the sport’s surfaces. Apostolos says, “His uniqueness helps him to deal with all of the hundreds of items of data which can be coming in whereas he’s enjoying matches.”

The day earlier than his follow session, Tsi­tsipas was sitting in a ballroom on the similar nation membership, chatting animatedly on just about any topic that occurred to return up. (Along with English, he speaks Greek and Russian fluently, and is aware of an honest quantity of French, Portuguese, and Spanish.) He had ideas on taking a vitamin class on the net studying platform Coursera, for instance. And on Matt D’Avella’s documentary about minimalism (“I really feel like decluttering is sweet”). To not point out important oils (“I really like lavender and at all times have it in my condo”) and detoxing from social media (the place he as soon as posted competitor and pal Nick Kyrgios’s telephone quantity as a birthday prank). Feed Tsitsipas a query, put no matter spin on it you need, and he fires again with a straight winner or a stunning little conversational drop shot. “There’s a salad that I discover actually underrated, and that’s the Cretan salad,” Tsitsipas says, requested a couple of tweet during which he referred to as for the abolition of the Caesar. “I might love this salad to be extra within the highlight.”

Tsitsipas’s allure is on full show on YouTube, the place he steadily shares journey vlogs with an viewers of almost 180,000 subscribers. (He does most of his personal manufacturing.) Touring, Tsitsipas has stated, “solves a variety of issues, for my part.” What sorts of issues? “Effectively, simply feeling anxious and feeling like my life leads someplace,” he says. “Generally I really feel like I play tennis and I supply a lot to many alternative those that love the game. However exterior the courtroom, I would like to have the ability to create.” Probably the most thrilling factor that ever occurred to him whereas touring was assembly the World’s Strongest Man, in Iceland. The largest catastrophe occurred in Oman, when the four-wheel drive he was using in by means of the desert virtually ran out of gasoline. “The solar was setting, and, you already know, we had been pondering we had been going to need to spend the night time there,” Tsitsipas remembers. As for the wildest night time, that went down not too long ago, in Dubai: “I by no means drink,” Tsitsipas begins, grinning. “However throughout my preseason, issues form of went uncontrolled.” There was Peruvian meals, together with some Moscow Mules and Cosmopolitans (“not a really manly drink, however I take pleasure in it”). “That was in all probability the primary time I skilled being drunk,” Tsitsipas says earlier than including, “I’ve a saying that I actually imagine, and that doesn’t translate solely into my tennis, which is to go after each single day.”

One in every of Tsitsipas’s objectives for 2021 was to win a Masters 1000 match, which he did in April in Monte Carlo (the place he now lives), changing into the primary Greek ever to take action. Then he triumphed once more in Could, successful simply at Lyon. Previous to his run on the French, Tsitsipas had made a behavior of arising quick in Grand Slams: a late-round exit right here, a semifinal there. However his centered efficiency in Paris, culminating in an exhilarating five-set last during which he misplaced, simply barely, to Novak Djokovic, put an finish to the tutting of sideline second-guessers, whereas successful Tsitsipas a legion of latest supporters. (His first-round exit at Wimbledon in June was, alas, a disappointment for the rising fan membership.) “My purpose for this 12 months is to complete the season with a variety of wins,” he informed me earlier than Roland Garros. “I don’t know whether or not that’s 50, 60, or 70. I don’t care what number of, however I wish to be on the prime of the Most Wins chief of the 12 months.” After we spoke, he was at 33, having earned greater than $1.5 million in prize cash.