Stefanos Tsitsipas claims he is "honored to be putting Greece on the map", reveals he's a Will Smith fan
In the absence of the Big 3 and Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the title favorites at the ongoing Miami Masters. And the Greek did justice to that tag on Saturday, defeating Damir Dzumhur with consummate ease to move into the third round - where he will face Kei Nishikori.
Speaking with the media after his win, Stefanos Tsitsipas described how it feels to participate in an event sans the legendary trio of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The 22-year-old went on to express pride at putting Greece 'on the map' with his achievements, before revealing his admiration for Hollywood actor Will Smith.
According to Tsitsipas, the ongoing Miami Masters is a chance for the younger generation to see where they stand in the absence of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal - something the Greek reckons will happen more frequently in the future.
"Well it's a first test to see how it is playing without them," Tsitsipas said. "I might say there's going to be a time in the future where this is going to be more frequent, happening more regularly and maybe even a standard soon so yeah we get a taste of how it is playing without them."
The absence of the Big 3 (and Dominic Thiem) has also ensured that younger players like Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas find themselves under greater pressure to win titles. Tsitsipas claimed, however, that such pressure makes him proud rather than intimidated.
Being the only male Greek player to have achieved such heights in tennis makes Stefanos Tsitsipas 'very happy' to be able to make a name for his nation.
"I love that there's talk about that around the Greek guy because there hasn't been any Greek player even close to that," Tsitsipas said. "So it's great. I’m honored to be someone who puts the sport at such a high standard, high level, and putting Greece on the map so having people talk about that makes me very happy and gives me ambition."
After his win over Damir Dzumhur, Stefanos Tsitsipas maintained his usual celebratory routine and signed his autograph on the camera lens, as most players do. But this time, there was an addition to the autograph in the form of two words - "Bad Boys".
Upon being probed about this in his presser, Tsitsipas disclosed that he was asked earlier this week to choose between Bad Boys and Miami Vice (both movies are based in Miami). The 22-year-old explained that he went with the former option because he prefers Will Smith.
"Well I got asked the other day whether I’m a Bad Boys fan or Miami Vice fan and I happen to be Bad Boys," Tsitsipas said. "I prefer Will Smith 100% more and it came to my mind, you know, Miami’s a place that's related to that."
Plenty of other good players out there except the Big 3 who can play good on clay or hard: Stefanos Tsitsipas
During the media interaction, Stefanos Tsitsipas threw his weight behind the younger players, asserting that they are good on at least one surface if not all of them. The Greek then named Denis Shapovalov, Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime as the players who could dominate the sport for years to come.
"But there's plenty of other good players out there except the top three that can play good either that's on clay or hard or all surfaces," Tsitsipas said. "We have a generation of players that have a good game and can be at the top of the game for many years. I've played a lot of them Shapovalov, De Minaur, Auger-Aliassime, all a great lineup and all doing really well recently."