Tsitsipas chats Spanish lessons and Spanish friends

With players stuck inside for months, many picked up new hobbies and honed non-tennis skills while waiting for things to get back to (semi) normal. Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed he is trying to improve his Spanish.

"I asked for the Mutua Madrid Open to hire a tutor for me," Tsitsipas said during the post-match interview at the Western & Southern Open. "I love Spanish, the Spanish language, a lot...I'm really fascinated when it comes to accents."

His motivation may not just be personal, as the Greek says he is best friends with Roberto Bautista Agut, a native Spaniard.

"He's probably one of my best friends on tour," Tsitsipas said. "We don't really speak much, but...he's a really close friend of mine...he's one of the biggest fighters...and persistent players on the tour."

Agut would fall in the semifinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in a third-set tiebreaker. Tsitsipas also made it the way to the semifinals but lost to Milos Raonic.

Tsitsipas will head into the US Open as the No. 4 seed where he will face Albert Ramos Vinolas in the first round on Monday.