Stefanos Tsitsipas believes the grass and clay seasons “should be longer.” The clay season – which officially kicked off last Monday – will last through June 11th. On June 12th, the grass season will be kicking off. The Wimbledon final is scheduled for July 16th but the last grass tournament of the season is taking place between July 17-23 in Newport.
Overall, hard remains a dominant surface in tennis. “Grass and clay seasons should be longer. I know that for clay there are still events in August but I am in favor of natural surfaces being more valued in the calendar,” Tsitsipas said, via Tennis-Infinity.
Tsitsipas on why he loves clay
Tsitsipas’ career-best results have come on clay. Tsitsipas is a two-time Masters champion – both of his Masters wins came on the clay courts of Monte Carlo. Tsitsipas also made his first Grand Slam final at the 2021 French Open – he suffered a five-set defeat to Novak Djokovic.
“I really like the tactical analysis of clay-court tennis. I think it is deeper than people think. There is a lot of strategy involved. You are not expecting to hit crazy winners on a surface like clay. You are dealing with much patience when you are playing.
It involves more around unforced and forced errors. The way you can open the court. The main priority is not to hit a winner, but be precise and open the court,” Tsitsipas explained. Of the three mentioned tennis surfaces, grass is Tsitsipas’ weakest surface.
Even though Tsitsipas is not really known as a strong force on grass, he can still play well on the fastest tennis surface. Last year, Tsitsipas clinched his first title on grass after beating Roberto Bautista Agut in the Mallorca final.
After winning Mallorca, Tsitsipas made the Wimbledon third round before losing to Nick Kyrgios in a heated match.
