AFP, Paris
Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first Greek player to reach a Grand Slam final on Friday when he defeated Germany's Alexander Zverev in a bruising five-setter at the French Open, admitting the experience had left him exhausted but proud.
Fifth-seeded Tsitsipas won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 and will face either 13-time champion Rafael Nadal or world number one Novak Djokovic in the championship match.
However, the 22-year-old will have his work cut out on Sunday -- he is 2-7 against Nadal and 2-5 playing Djokovic.
"All I can think of is my roots, a small place outside Athens where I dreamed to play on the big stage at the French Open," said a tearful Tsitsipas on making his first final at the majors, secured on a fifth match point.
"It was nerve-wracking, so intense, I stayed alive. I went out there and fought. This win means a lot, it's the most important one of my career so far."
Tsitsipas had lost all of his previous three semi-finals at the Slams -- at the 2019 and 2021 Australian Open as well as Roland Garros last year in five sets to Djokovic.
"It was just such a big relief I was able to close it in such a good way," he said.
"It was just exhausting. I'm proud of myself. I'm grateful for every single match that I get to play. I'm obviously just blessed to have the opportunity to play against the best and test myself."
For Zverev, the US Open runner-up last year after surrendering a two-set lead to Dominic Thiem, it was a defeat he was determined to forget as quickly as possible.
"I don't particularly care about semi-finals. Might sound arrogant. I'm not trying to be arrogant. I'm just saying it how it is," he said.
"I wouldn't have cared about a final either, to be honest. I didn't win the tournament. Wimbledon is in two weeks' time and I'm looking forward to that."