Stefanos Tsitsipas became very emotional while talking about his country Greece after he defeated Alexander Zverev in a three-hour, 35-minute tussle at French Open.
The fifth seed has become the first player from his nation to make a Grand Slam championship match following a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 win over the German Zverev.
"All I can think of is my roots, where I came from. I came from a really small place outside Athens," Tsitispas said on court as he fought back tears. "My dream was to play here. My dream was to play in the big stage of Roland-Garros one day. I would have never thought I would."
This victory was possibly the most important one for the 22-year-old in his career till now as he also became the youngest finalist in Paris since Rafael Nadal triumphed in 2008.
Tsitsipas looked hopeful for the future of tennis in the country as he credited Maria Sakkari and said they need to elevate the sport in Greece. Unlike Tsitsipas, first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Maria Sakkari was not able to convert her chances as Czech's Barbora Krejcikova outlasted her 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 in the longest women's singles semi-final in Roland Garros history.
"I'm very happy that me and Maria [Sakkari] have been doing a great job so far, elevating the sport and keeping the hopes of Greek tennis alive."
The 24-year-old Zverev has never beaten a top-10 opponent at a major now in 10 attempts.
"I'm not at a stage anymore where great matches are something that I'm satisfied with. Today nothing, I lost. I'm not in the final," Zverev said.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will now face World Number 1 Novak Djokovic in the biggest final of his career on Sunday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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