Stefanos Tsitsipas is clearly enjoying his tennis once again, continuing his fine form by winning his opening match in Almaty.

Tsitsipas defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6(11-9), 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the ATP 250 tournament in Kazakhstan. The seventh seed required almost two hours to win the tricky battle.

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Off the court, Tsitsipas has been busy discussing his career in detail, which involves 13 ATP titles and a rise to third in the world rankings once upon a time. He has discussed the possibility of winning a Grand Slam title, having lost two major finals during his impressive career.

Stefanos Tsitsipas remains hopeful of a Grand Slam title

Tasked with discussing comparisons to his fellow players Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, Tsitsipas said in Almaty: “I always look at it and view it, I have my own chapter, I have my own story. Their story is not my story, and my story is not their story. They have written their own story through the Tour and through the success that they have had.

“And maybe one way you could look at it. Yes, I’m stuck a little bit behind, but this is my story, and the story is not just results on their own and performance. It’s what you go through as well as a tennis player, because one day I can always use that to help the next generation of tennis players. I look throughout my journey as pretty much like a learning curve, where it kind of goes up and down, and there are so many different variations of it.

“And I’ve had my fair share of success. I’ve had my fair share of victories and big wins, etc., etc. And every single day I have the chance to write to my story. I could maybe one day be a Grand Slam winner later in life, or not, but I’ve given it a try. I’ve tried all kinds of things to get there.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas opens up on his coaching history

Tsitsipas also delved into his rollercoaster coaching setup, which has previously involved his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, and Goran Ivanisevic. Patrick Mouratoglou, a former coach of Serena Williams, is currently on board with Thomas Perrin.

Sharing insight into the situation, he explained: “Well I’ve learned that a good team is half of the job. A team that is inspiring, a team that is peaceful, creates peace in the box and in your daily life is a really important asset that you can use having the right people around you. I’ve experienced a few things in my career. I’ve experienced some not so appreciated things.

“Given that I’m someone that likes to work hard and someone that likes to put effort, and I’ve been raised that great things in life come from hard work. Being called certain things was really confusing and a first timer for me because I never had to experience that before. But I guess you learn, and I guess you’re more careful in the future with the things but also the people you want to associate yourself with.”

Tsitsipas entered Almaty on the back of a last 16 run at the Shanghai Masters, during which he claimed a big win over Taylor Fritz. He now meets home favourite and wildcard Mikhail Kukushkin at that stage of the Almaty Open. Medvedev and Alexander Bublik are among the other high-profile players involved.