Stefanos Tsitsipas's results in the last month and a half have not been great. The 20-year-old Greek player lost to David Goffin in the Cincinnati first round, Daniil Medvedev in the US Open second round, Ricardas Beranis in the Moselle Open opening round and Pierre Hugues Herbert in the Shenzhen Open opening round as well.
Speaking ahead of the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo where he will start his campaign against the local hero Taro Daniel, Tsitsipas explained why his level dropped after losing to the Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the Toronto Rogers Cup final.
At that tournament Tsitsipas beat four top ten players in a row. 'Fatigue is part of it. I don't feel that fresh like I felt during these weeks in Washington and Toronto, I can say I feel a little bit tired, but that won't stop me from playing better.
I am gonna continue working hard because in five weeks the season is pretty much over. I have five or four more tournaments to play, so I have to give myself the best shot until then and play at my best. I need to keep my best for the last tournaments to the season', Tsitsipas said.
Tsitsipas is the 13th on the Race and would like to play London ATP Finals: 'I saw the Race recently and I am not so far from making the Nitto Finals. It's exciting because I have been playing great tennis this year and I believe I deserve to be where I am right now.
As I said I am gonna have to play better and get some extra wins to make it to London. If things do not go as planned, I will have my second choice which is Next Gen Finals. In the Master the best eight top players compete against each other.
I am excited for the last part of the year because it's extra motivation for me.' He also explained how his goals changed compared to a few months ago: 'My goal was to finish in the top 50 actually but now it's top 15 instead.
I am happy but if the season ended today I would go for vacation and then start working hard for the new season and the Australian swing and get prepared for those events because I have nothing to defend.' ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title .