“Clay in my shoes, sweat on my shirt, and a suspicious number of churros after,” wrote Stefanos Tsitsipas on Instagram ahead of the start of his Mutua Madrid Open.

A finalist at the Caja Magica in 2019, and at Roland-Garros in 2021, Tsitsipas is one of the best clay-courters of his generation and is hoping his clay campaign can take off in the Spanish capital this week, following quarter-final exits in Monte Carlo and Barcelona earlier this month.

In Monte Carlo, where he is a three-time champion, Tsitsipas fell to eventual finalist Lorenzo Musetti in three sets. In Barcelona, he abruptly retired just two games into his quarter-final against Arthur Fils, citing a back issue.

On the heels of a hard-fought opening victory over former Madrid runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff, Tsitsipas has a shot at revenge when he takes on Musetti in the third round on Monday.

“I had to work hard for it,” the Greek said following his 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win against Struff.

“I’ll give myself a good score towards the end because I got the crowd involved and it felt really good to be playing. So I would say that the way it ended, I was very satisfied to be able to close it in that sense.”

Tsitsipas’s defeat to Musetti in Monte Carlo was his first in six meetings with the Italian and he admitted after it was one of the most disappointing losses of his career.

“Obviously, he’s caused me trouble recently but I’m going to try and get on the court and maybe correct a few things that weren’t working out well,” said Tsitsipas on Saturday.

“I will try to fight as hard and not have delays like today.”

The highly-anticipated third-round duel will feature two one-handed backhand all-stars. Tsitsipas has gained some extra pop on that shot ever since he made a surprise decision to change his racquet back in February.

The move paid dividends immediately for the former world No.3 as he clinched the ATP 500 title in Dubai, which was his first tournament playing with the new equipment.

“It’s not an easy decision. It requires ferocity and being a big risk-taker,” said Tsitsipas.

“Because you are used to a certain thing for so long and you don’t know what’s out there. And it can be a tricky thing, especially during the middle of the season, the beginning of the season. These things need to happen before the season starts.

“And I would say that it’s a very risky decision to be doing changes like this. I don’t recommend it to any tennis player unless they’re 100 percent sure.

“In my case, I was quite convinced this is what I wanted for myself. And I haven’t really looked back ever since.”

On his part, world No.11 Musetti confessed he is doing his very best to avoid checking the ATP live rankings this week, knowing he is on the cusp of breaking into the top 10 for the first time in his career.

The Italian’s straight-sets win over Tomas Etcheverry on Saturday moved him up to No.9 in the live rankings. But securing his place in the top-10 club will only be determined at the end of the Mutua Madrid Open, depending on the results of Musetti’s closest competitors.

Looking ahead to his clash with Tsitsipas, Musetti is well aware the Greek will be gunning for him.

“He’s going to be hungry to take the revenge. But I think I’m ready to rumble, to have another fight as we were fighting each other in Monte Carlo,” said the 23-year-old from Tuscany.

“Of course, for me, it was one of my biggest achievements. And I saw that he said that (he was disappointed) after the match. I’ve been in that position many times. So, there’s a lot of hard losses, honestly, during a year, during a career, during a season. But I think the goal for me is to try to focus on my game.”