The Greek won the opening set against Humbert in the Olympics, but then lost the second set in a tiebreak and ended up falling to a three-set defeat.

It looked like deja vu for the newly-minted World No. 3 when he took the opening set in Toronto 6-3 and then fluffed as many as five match points in a riveting second-set tiebreak.

But this time Tsitsipas was able to handle the setback much better. He stormed through the decider in just over 30 minutes, dropping just one game and registering his 43rd victory of the season.

Speaking to the media following the win, Tsitsipas explained how a break after the second set helped him regroup and refocus. The Greek declared that he showed “incredible mental strength” to keep going after the disappointment of losing such a close tiebreak.

Tsitsipas has been working with psychologist Costas Pergantis since the age of 12 in an attempt to strengthen his mind. Even though the partnership has yielded rewards thus far, the Monte Carlo Masters champion believes in finding solutions by himself whenever he is in trouble.

“Interesting to have this kind of variation and change of thrones” - Stefanos Tsitsipas on the absence of Big 3 at Toronto

Back in 2018 when a 19-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas rampaged through the Rogers Cup draw in Toronto, he was stopped in the final by Rafael Nadal.

This time around, the Spaniard has withdrawn from the event due to a foot injury. The absence of Nadal, as well as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, has left the tournament bereft of any of the Big 3 members for the first time since 2001. This leaves the door open for the younger players to step up and perform.

Tsitsipas acknowledged that the Big 3 have taken tennis to the level it is at now, but conceded that “variation” is definitely “interesting” for the game.

Tsitsipas also went on to admit how much of an influence each of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has had on the careers of the NextGen. Privileged to be playing in this era, the Greek hopes his generation can draw inspiration from the Big 3 and reach great heights.

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