Matteo Gigante reveals the secret of his feat with Stefanos Tsitsipas

Matteo Gigante spoke in a press conference after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, with the score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4: “I had set the match on his backhand because it is the shot on which he struggles a little bit more, but at the same time I had to have great conviction to go fast with my feet and take time off the ball to get it to him faster and quicker and send him a little bit off, that was the main weapon and then of course there were other factors. A few things added up and that” that”s what happened.

“The strength was definitely to stay calm, to play all the points in the match because anything can happen. I was down one break in the second set and I got it back, I had two balls to go 6-5 in the second and then I lost that set. I went to the bathroom, I was very calm, I was in the match: my strength today was my calmness.”

“Let’s say that the flat serve in the middle is in my chords, I play it better than the slice out that I am improving so much day by day. I remember the short ball that kissed the tape, I will never forget that. I had personality, I was asked by Marco and I think I did. To cancel so many break balls means I was there. Voices of encouragement and positivity came to me from the corner.”

“I have a lot of horsepower. I am quite fast, at soccer I play on the wing, I run a lot. Difficulties in getting here? As a kid I wasn’t one of the first ones, I’ve always been there, in 2021 I was stopped six months because of my elbow. I am calm because everyone has their own path, now it is going well but surely there will be bad moments like I had mono last year. In the bad moments I have always managed to rise well”.