Carlos Alcaraz a breath of fresh air, I owe him a lot: Stefanos Tsitsipas

World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a tough first-round test at the 2023 French Open on Sunday (May 28), defeating Jiri Vesely 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7).

The Greek appeared unprepared for the level of resistance provided by the 445th-ranked player after a lengthy injury absence. He had to save four set points in the fourth set to avoid a decider.

Stefanos Tsitsipas attended a press conference after his victory and mentioned how he had a practice session with Carlos Alcaraz. He shared that he randomly expressed gratitude towards the Spaniard, unsure if he understood. The Greek also appreciated Alcaraz's presence on the tour and acknowledged his positive impact.

"I'll keep it simple, and I had this discussion with someone recently. I did say, I had a practice session with Carlitos the other day and did throw in a 'thank you' just randomly, and I don't know if he understood that or not. I owe a lot to Carlitos, because he's such a breath of fresh air, the fact that he's on the tour," he said.

Tsitsipas then expressed how Alcaraz's positive attitude and character influenced his own perspective on tennis. He went on to admire the Spaniard's approach, saying that he aimed to incorporate similar aspects into his own game. He insisted that he has more joy and happiness in playing because of the 2022 US Open champion.

"Last year during preseason I was, like, I want to apply that more into my game. Players focus more maybe on technical stuff and stuff that don't kind of -hthat don't focus on these aspects of the game," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.

"I kind of admire him for who he is. I just want to be more -- I have that capacity of being that person. I truly believe that. That is also the reason that I'm just much more joyful and happy when playing this sport, due to him..." he added.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals the tactics behind his first-round win

Stefanos Tsitsipas pictured at the 2023 French Open - Day One.

Stefanos Tsitsipas shared that he tried a new approach in his first-round win over Jiri Vesely. He explained that it included going to the ball more, and adding depth to his shots, which helped him in gaining a better court perspective.

"I know it might sound unusual for someone to say that, but I said, Okay, let me try something new. Let me just try and go to the ball a little bit more, add a little bit more depth to my shot and a better way to kind of view the court, as well, by doing that, coming in," he said.

The Greek then described experiencing a "spark" later in the game that potentially contributed to his comeback. Although uncertain, he believes that his new approach was more effective than his previous strategies, leading to a successful outcome.

"Psychologically, that was like kind of, it created a spark. I don't know. I still don't know and I don't know, I will never know whether that was because of that that I was able to come back. But if I was to guess, I would say much better than just what I was trying to do before that. It worked," Tsitsipas said.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will next meet Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round on Wednesday (May 31).