"There are many versions of what is the best" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on Federer, Djokovic and Nadal's GOAT debate
Stefanos Tsitsipas did not single out any one player out of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic as the 'greatest', since he believed that the term meant different things to different people.
On Wednesday, June 28, the top-seeded Greek's campaign at the Mallorca Open came to an end, as he lost to Yannick Hanfmann in the opening round. He also stood side-by-side with doubles partner Feliciano Lopez, as the latter bid adieu to professional tennis after a career span of nearly 26 years.
In an interview with as.com, the World No. 5 was asked to weigh in on the GOAT debate. Tsitsipas did not single out anyone from the Big 3 and opined that different people had different criteria for considering a player to be the greatest.
As an example, he stated that one may consider the number of Grand Slams won by a player as a measure, while others may consider the number of fans that a player drew to the sport.
"In my opinion, all of them (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) are great. Some people say that numbers matter, Grand Slam titles. Others, that it is more the number of fans that the player has drawn to tennis. That's what counts," he said.
He took the 'to each his own' approach and added:
"There are many versions of who is the best. I'll let people draw their own conclusions," he added.
Stefanos Tsitsipas touched on many topics during the interview, including his relationship with Paula Badosa.
Stefanos Tsitsipas loses in Mallorca Open 2023 opener
Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a loss in the Round of 16 of the 2023 Mallorca Open at the hands of Yannick Hanfmann.
The German broke early in the opening game and won the first set. While the Greek fought back and took the second set, Hanfmann broke twice in the decider set before winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
This is the first time that 48th-ranked Hanfmann has defeated a Top 10 player.
Biggest win of his career! 👊
@YannickHanfmann takes out the defending champion in Mallorca, Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4 3-6 6-2 💪
@MallorcaChamps | #MallorcaChampionships https://t.co/RRcO6zg409
In a post-match interview, Hanfmann was elated at the win and said:
“I think a lot of things have to work to beat a Top 10 player. I think I had a really good start. Maybe Stefanos was a little bit rusty in the conditions. With the wind and the grass it was not that easy, so maybe having a match already on the first day was really important."
The World No. 5 also faced early exits at the 2023 Stuttgart Open and Halle Open earlier in June.