Stefanos Tsitsipas jokes about why Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open, says "it was all because of the Greek food"
After her semifinal win over Serena Williams at last month’s Australian Open, Naomi Osaka revealed she had switched from eating Japanese cuisine to Greek food the previous day. That, she claimed, was partly inspired by Stefanos Tsitsipas' comeback win over Rafael Nadal in the men's quarterfinals.
Naomi Osaka went on to beat Jennifer Brady in the final two days later, for the fourth Slam title of her career. And now, Stefanos Tsitsipas has jokingly credited Osaka consumption of souvlaki (a popular Greek dish) as the reason for her Australian Open triumph.
Tsitsipas made the comments on Friday at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Rotterdam, where he is through to the semifinals. The Greek defeated Karen Khachanov in a tight three-setter to set up a clash against another Russian - Andrey Rublev - for a spot in the final.
"I also like to think that she won the Australian Open due to souvlaki that she ate the other day," Tsitsipas responded with a smile when asked about Naomi Osaka's latest Major title. "Not the other day, when she was playing the Australian Open. She had Greek food apparently, and I’ll just tell her one thing: I think it was all because of Greek food."
Nice to see women’s tennis be taken over by such an inspiring and charming player like Naomi Osaka: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Naomi Osaka share a friendly equation off the court.
The two held a joint Instagram Live session for their fans during last year’s COVID-enforced lockdown. Tsitsipas had also earlier spoken about how he was inspired by Osaka to learn about the Black Lives Matter movement during her sensational 2020 US Open run.
The Greek, who will rise to No. 5 in the ATP rankings next week, claimed on Friday that he was proud of Osaka's achievements on and off the court.
“I’m very proud of her,” Stefanos Tsitsipas said. “We keep in touch, we talk from time to time. She’s a great human being, even greater on the tennis court, has been showing unbelievable tennis, most of the Slams that’s where she shines.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas further expressed his delight at seeing someone as ‘inspiring’ and ‘charming’ as Naomi Osaka become the new face of women's tennis.
"I'm really happy for Naomi Osaka, she’s doing great, it’s really nice to see women’s tennis be taken over by such an inspiring, such a charming player like her," Tsitsipas went on. "She has everything. She has the charm, she has the personality, the game, so it’s really good for the game to have players like her."