Stefanos Tsitsipas inspired by team-mate Carlos Alcaraz in Laver Cup win, wants to 'follow in his footsteps'

Published 25/09/2024 at 14:37 GMT

Greek No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas was playing close attention to Carlos Alcaraz during the Laver Cup last week as the Spaniard inspired Team Europe to a thrilling come-from-behind victory in Berlin. Alcaraz won the winner-takes-all decider against Team World's Taylor Fritz to seal the tie 13-11, leading two-time Grand Slam finalist Tsitsipas to say he wants to "follow in his footsteps".

Watch as Team Europe lift the Laver Cup for a fifth time after comeback victory

World No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas wants to emulate Carlos Alcaraz on court, admitting he was inspired by the Spaniard in last week's Laver Cup and hopes to "follow in his footsteps".

The two were part of Team Europe at the annual invitational tournament, with Alcaraz winning the crucial final-day match to seal victory for Bjorn Borg's squad.

Alcaraz wowed the crowds - and his fellow players - with his trademark showmanship and style on the court, and his team-mate Tsitsipas said the experience of playing alongside the four-time Grand Slam champion has inspired his own game.

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Speaking to the ATP, he said: "I'm observing Carlos, it's like, seeing him from that angle is so different to just watching him on TV or any other type of competition - I don't really get to get so close and intimate with another high-tier player as him. He's currently one of the best players in the world, won two Grand Slam titles this year, and for me he's an example. I really want to follow in his footsteps."

With this year's Laver Cup going right down to the wire, it was Alcaraz who sealed the victory for Team Europe with a 6-2 7-5 win over American Taylor Fritz.

A doubles defeat alongside Alexander Zverev was Alcaraz's only misstep in the competition, having produced a sterling straight-sets win over Ben Shelton on Day 2.

His performances throughout the weekend led to him being dubbed 'Fed 05' by the Team World opposition, a reference to Swiss great Roger Federer's all-conquering 2005 season. Federer won all but four of his matches that year and lifted the US Open and Wimbledon trophies.

This year the 21-year-old became the youngest man to win the 'Channel Slam', back-to-back victories at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, notoriously difficult due to the very different surfaces of clay and grass, as well as a silver medal in the Olympic singles.

Highlights: Alcaraz sees off Fritz in straight sets to seal Laver Cup for Team Europe

"To get to see him play live and to see what kind of patterns and what kind of behaviours and what kind of body language he shows on court is definitely something that I try and copy and try to bring into my own game," Tsitsipas said.

The Greek reached the Australian Open final in 2023 and the Roland-Garros final in 2021 but has never won a Grand Slam title. He won the Monte Carlo Masters title earlier this year, his third at the tournament, but has otherwise had an indifferent year, most recently enduring a shock first-round exit at the US Open to Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Tsitsipas earned Team Europe's first point at the Laver Cup with a commanding 6-1 6-4 victory over Australia's world No. 78 Kokkinakis, avenging his US Open defeat.

Although the 26-year-old then fell to a 6-1 6-2 doubles defeat alongside former US Open and French Open finalist Casper Ruud, the pair bounced back with victory in the opening rubber on Sunday before Alcaraz's star turn on the singles court.

In his interview with the ATP Tsitsipas wore a Japanese national team football kit, explaining: "I've been supporting it for a while. They're fighters, that's what I try and resonate [with] on a tennis court, and it's also brought me some luck.

"I wore it before my Australian Open 2023 debut and I managed to make the finals that year so it was not the worst story! It worked pretty well. I find this shirt brings me luck, I try to wear it as much as I can."

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