Stefanos Tsitsipas will become Greece’s first Grand Slam champion and world number one if he wins the Australian Open final on Sunday. There aren’t many athletes whose careers and prospects have been forged by near-death experiences, but the 24-year-old world number four is an exception. In 2015, when a teenage Tsitsipas and a friend took part in a third level event in Crete, they went swimming and almost fatally misjudged the strength of the current.
The two boys had just been wiped out when Tsitsipas’ father Apostolos, who is also his coach, dove in to get them to safety.
“We couldn’t breathe, I felt terrible being in the water and was terrified. I didn’t know how this was all going to end,” Tsitsipas once recalled.
“My dad saw us from a distance and he jumped in, started swimming towards us and pushed us towards the beach. I was only a few breaths away from death.
“If we were to die that day and lose our lives, we should do it together. My father was a hero.
“That was the day I saw life with a different perspective. I remember afterwards how much it changed me psychologically.”
Tsitsipas has the same birthday as Pete Sampras – August 12 – and is studious and contemplative.
He speaks Greek, English and Russian, and has studied Spanish and Chinese.
Sporty family
Sport is in his genes. Life-saving Apostolos is his coach while mother Julia Salnikova is an ex-tennis pro.
His grandfather, Sergei Salnikov, was a 1956 Olympic gold medalist in football for the Soviet Union.
Since Tsitsipas turned pro in 2016, Tsitsipas’ career has been on the rise.
He was ranked 210th in the world in his first season, but was in the top 100 by the end of 2017 and as high as five in 2018, the first Greek to achieve such status.
By the time he was 21, he had already racked up victories over the sport’s three greatest beasts: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Tsitsipas was the first Greek man to win a tour title and has won a total of nine, but a Grand Slam crown has remained elusive.
He hopes that will change when he faces Djokovic in the Australian Open final on Sunday. The win would also make him world number one for the first time.
His only previous major final came in 2021 when he came agonizingly close to the French Open crown, racing to a two-set lead over Djokovic in the final before the Serb staged an epic comeback to claim victory.
His biggest victory to date came when he was still 21. He captured the season-ending 2019 ATP Finals title, becoming the youngest champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.
‘Very smart’
Tsitsipas, with blonde hair and a height of 1.93 m, has long been touted as a possible heir to Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
He comes across as one of the more all-round tennis players, but he can also be feisty.
He has developed an intriguing rivalry with Daniil Medvedev, another fast-tracking “Big Three”.
The Russian once described Tsitsipas’ game as “boring”.
Tsitsipas labeled Medvedev a “(expletive) Russian” during a fiery encounter in Miami.
His Melbourne opponent Djokovic, no stranger to controversy himself, is a fan.
“He’s a hard worker, dedicated, nice guy,” the Serb once said.
“He is very smart and wise. I like the fact that he is more than just a tennis player and he is always looking to learn from experience and to understand something new about himself.
“That’s the quality of a champion, of someone who has great potential to become number one in the world and win Slams and be a great ambassador for the sport.”
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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