About ten years ago I refined my Biofile list of questions to tennis pros, changing the childhood heroes question to who or what inspires you, what is your tennis inspiration?
Today I saw Naomi Osaka ask Stefanos Tsitsipas this same question, What inspires you? (Yes, I think she has read my Biofiles.)
Tsitsipas paused for several long seconds and countered with a cerebral response to his Skype friend…”If I can minimize it to three or four words…to deliver a feeling.”
Osaka was clearly fascinated by this profound response and asked her former or still current crush to elaborate.
“Is to deliver a feeling to people who watch me,” said the charismatic ATP top ten superstar. “To people who get to see my artistry. I want to show people a better side of life. I don’t know if I succeeded. I want to leave a legacy behind.”
Osaka agreed with Tsitsipas on that count but stopped short of fainting.
Jeanius · May 27, 2020 at 9:34 pm
Not what I was expecting. Naomi was probably also surprised. Has there e
Ever been a player so philosophical?
I can’t think of anyone
I bet you can think of a f
Few scoop. Does it help them be better players?
Scoop Malinowski · May 27, 2020 at 9:52 pm
Jeanius, Tsitsipas is Greek, so he must have some Aristotle, Socrates and Plato in his blood and soul. Or he’s a wanna be philosopher ) Boris Becker had a phisophical bent too, remember Brad Gilbert and Andre Agassi mockingly called Becker “BB Socrates.”
Jeanius · June 5, 2020 at 9:38 am
Learned that he had a near drowning experience that made him who he is
“It woke me up a bit, made me realise how less important other things are in your own life. It made me realise how lucky I was that I was still living life and that I was not somewhere else. I was not scared of anything after that. Still, to this day, I am not scared of anything. I think this experience helped me become wiser and stronger, physically and mentally.”
Scoop Malinowski · June 5, 2020 at 10:25 am
Jean we seem to be hearing so much From Tsitsipas during this hiatus, while other players like Kenin, Andreescu, have stayed totally out of the social media eye. I like Tsitsipas a lot but he may be talking a little too much. Overexposure is a concern.