Stefanos
Tsitsipas stated that he would rather be world No. 1 than win a Grand Slam.
The Greek
player is currently competing in the ATP 250 Los Cabos Open, where he advanced
from his debut match against John Isner and will now face Nicolas Jarry in the
quarterfinals. Chilean athlete had defeated Tsitsipas in the Halle Open two
weeks before participating in Wimbledon.
In an
interview with 'El Universal Deportes,' Tsitsipas expressed his
preference for holding the world No. 1 ranking over winning a Grand Slam.
Despite
being one of the active players who have reached Grand Slam finals without a
victory, Tsitsipas has shown consistent performance in major tournaments. He
has suffered two final defeats, one at the 2021 French Open and the other at
the 2023 Australian Open.
Other
players who have reached Grand Slam finals without winning include Jo-Wilfred
Tsonga (1), Alexander Zverev (1), Nick Kyrgios (1), Matteo Berretini (1), Milos
Raonic (1), Kei Nishikori (1), Kevin Anderson (2), and Casper Ruud (3).
“I would
trade a Grand Slam title to be #1. It's something special & a sign that you
reached the maximum in your career & I love when you're able to maximize
everything. That way, 1 day I can tell my grandchildren I was #1,” Tsitsipas said.
As of now,
the world No. 5 is quite far from the top spot with 4850 points, still trailing
behind Carlos Alcaraz (9225) and Novak Djokovic (8795).
Throughout
the Open Era, 56 players have won a Grand Slam title, while only 28 have
reached the world No. 1 ranking. Interestingly, only one player managed to
reach the top spot without ever winning a Grand Slam in his career.
This
exceptional achievement belongs to Chilean tennis player Marcelo Ríos, who
spent a total of 6 weeks at the pinnacle of the rankings in 1998.
Despite not winning
any Grand Slam, Ríos captured seven titles, including three Master Series
titles (equivalent to today's Masters 1000 events). He also reached the final
of the Australian Open, where he suffered a defeat against Petr Korda.
