“I want to play Roland-Garros like I'm not the favourite,” he said last week in Lyon, clearly intent to ease the pressure that inevitably comes with entering a Grand Slam in such menacing form.
Asked to elaborate on that statement on Friday in Paris, Tsitsipas admitted he has a thing for surprises.
"First of all, whenever I play, I want to be the surprise of the tournament. That's what I like most about it," he said.
This year at Roland-Garros, inserted into the lower half of the draw, far away from 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal and 2016 champion Novak Djokovic, Tsitsipas’ chances of reaching his first Grand Slam final have increased dramatically before play has even started in Paris.
Seeing Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer all tucked into the top half is viewed as welcome news by Tsitsipas, but he doesn't want to dwell on it.