"No other player knows how to break a racquet the way Roger Federer does" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas has bestowed a rather disreputable title on Roger Federer, joking that the Swiss maestro is incomparable when it comes to breaking tennis racquets. In the Greek's opinion, Federer is the undisputed "GOAT of racquet destruction".
Speaking in a light-hearted interview with We are Tennis during his Open 13 Provence campaign, the World No. 4 waxed lyrical about the 20-time Grand Slam champion's knack for smashing racquets.
Who's the GOAT of racket destruction? Stefanos Tsitsipas' answer from Marseille's Open 13 will surprise you! 👀 https://t.co/QNxrSmntPj
Tsitsipas remarked that it was not a common occurrence with the former World No. 1 but on the rare occasions that he chose to destroy his frame, there was no sight more beautiful.
"The most beautiful person that smashes racquets, and he hasn't done that a lot in his career, but in terms of finesse when he does it, is Roger Federer," Tsitsipas said. "No other player knows how to break a racquet the way Roger does."
Stefanos Tsitsipas was particularly impressed by Federer's racquet smash against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2009 Miami Masters. After taking the first set 6-3, the World No. 30 lost the next two sets 2-6, 3-6 and ended up losing his cool.
@SpceEagle1 Go ahead and tell my followers that I like Federer and they'll be laughing until Christmas 😂
Miami 2009 vs Djokovic is the only time Federer has DESTROYED a racquet. Show me one more. https://t.co/W1blzM7vEY
The 23-year-old recalled how Federer threw the racquet to his bench after breaking it and referred to the moment as the "cherry on top" of a clean racquet smash.
"The Miami [Masters 2009 semifinal] against Djokovic, I think. That's a clean hit. That's a clean racquet smash," Tsitsipas said. "And then the throw at the end with the wrist, to the bench, that's the way to top off the smash with a cherry on the cake."
"I haven't been able to produce a tweener winner in a match yet, but one day I am pretty sure I will" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas was also asked several other interesting questions during the interview, such as who had the best tweener. The Greek went with Nick Kyrgios.
The World No. 4 added that he has been practicing the shot in training for a while and hopes that he can do it in a match soon.
"Nick Kyrgios [is the GOAT of the tweener]. I have had a few successful ones in practice, where I hit a winner out of a tweener. But unfortunately i haven't been able to produce that in a match yet," Tsitsipas said. "But one day, I am pretty sure I will."
As for the quickest player on tour, the 2021 Roland Garros finalist picked another Australian -- Alex de Minaur.
"Alex de Minaur [is the GOAT of speed]. 90% of planet Earth is covered by water, the rest 10% is covered by Alex de Minaur," Tsitsipas said.
Although he did not expand on it, Tsitsipas chose World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev as the "GOAT of arguing with the umpire". Quite famously, the Russian got into an altercation with the chair umpire during their semifinal encounter at last month's Australian Open.
"Daniil Medvedev [is the GOAT of arguing with the umpire]," Tsitsipas said.
Finally, when asked who had the best drop shot, Stefanos Tsitsipas nominated World No. 52 Benoit Paire. He was also impressed with World No. 103 Hugo Dellien.
"Benoit Paire [is the GOAT of the dropshot]," Tsitsipas said. "But someone that I have played and I was very impressed by the margin from the net, was Hugo Dellien. [He has a] very good touch."