Tsitsipas taps throwback mentality to plot deep Wimbledon run

Stefanos Tsitsipas said he was rediscovering the mindset that once fuelled his best Grand Slam runs after drawing on his past experiences at Wimbledon to seal a 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory over Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the first round on Monday. The Greek player advanced to the second round for the first time since 2024.

Tsitsipas removed his father and coach Apostolos from his team on the eve of the grasscourt major, but did not let the change affect him. He has slipped to 87th in the world due to poor results amid a back injury last year, but said he was past the issue and looked forward to stringing together a strong run.

"I'm missing the way I've been playing the last couple of years. And today while I was on the court, I was thinking of the great fights I've had previously at Wimbledon," Tsitsipas told reporters. The twice Grand Slam finalist, who has not gone beyond the fourth round of Wimbledon, said he would continue to tap into the past.

"Today's match was a bit of a throwback mentally of how I started this journey playing at Wimbledon, at the juniors, and trying to go far. I produced really good tennis," he added. He tried to revisit some of his qualities and ways of thinking from the past and apply them in a structured manner.

Regarding his back injury, Tsitsipas said, "It's been solved a long time now. The best thing about it is I don't have to wake up every single day and wonder whether I'm going to be able to play today without any pain. I've been feeling absolutely fine the last couple of months... I can confidently again reach finals and week two in big events."