After his loss at Australian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas says he feels like he’s a better player today than he was a few years ago, even though he‘s losing more now

Casper mentioned in November that he felt like sort of the game had changed, and he had to make some big changes in his game in terms of how he was brought up and playing. I'm just sort of curious, is that stuff that you've pondered that with this sort
of new generation of players, that to keep up with them, the game has shifted?”

Stef: “When I came around in 2018,
the game was very different to what it is now. It wasn't as physical. I've had wins over Novak, and I felt like I played well, and I didn't have to kind of exceed the most
extreme version of myself in that particular match. I remember it quite fondly and intensely. The game has shifted more towards a physical game. I feel like the
margins have become smaller, meaning that you're not getting as many free points. I feel like innovation has stepped in
and allowed players to serve even bigger than before. I definitely put emphasis on that. When I played years ago, I felt like it was less powerful in general, the game. It was still physical, but it was not as
big as it is now. So I do feel like power has taken over, meaning that everyone can hit hard now. You just have to be precise as well, combine those two, and you have
the ultimate player.

“As an extension of that, you've had a lot of
success at this particular tournament over the years, semifinals, final. You made your big breakthrough beating Roger here. I just wonder, do you feel differently within yourself now to maybe when you were 20 and it was, I guess, new?”

Stef: “Yeah, for sure I had a fresher
mind back then. It seemed like I was hungrier in a completely different way than I am now. I would definitely say that one thing that stood out the most back then is that I had this hunger to try and make
a life out of tennis and to try to have a good beginning in my tennis career and my tennis journey. It's different than it is now.
I've been quite well-established in the last couple of years, and I have seen the game, and I have seen all variations of games around the tour. I've done the tour
over and over again, the same circle of tournaments and events. I've experienced what it is to be on the ATP Tour. I feel like there was a different energy, a different
dynamic back then. I would actually say that I'm a better player now than I
was back then. So even though I'm losing now and I'm not at my best, I feel like I'm much better as a player than back then where I felt like my shots were not as heavy in terms of topspin. I was playing much more flat and much more through the court. I feel like such a thing now wouldn't work as effectively as it did back then.”

(via Australian Open Press)