Stefanos Tsitsipas has opened up on the reason for his lack of friends on the ATP Tour.
The Greek star is in hot pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title and should he capture the Australian Open trophy this Sunday, he would also become the new world number one.
In previous years, the 24-year-old has spoken openly about not being particularly close to any of his fellow players and doubled down on that statement in a recent interview with GQ. Tsitsipas likes to carry a handheld video camera on his travels to record vlogs and posts his landscape photography on Instagram in between tennis clips.
But to a greater degree than most players, he keeps to himself. “I would love to have friends on tour,” he said. “I just don’t feel like I relate to a lot of them, in terms of how I approach life.” While the world number four isn’t close pals with his colleagues, one person he would love to develop a friendship with is mega actress Margot Robbie.
Following his 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-4 quarter-final victory over Jiri Lehecka at Melbourne Park, Tsitsipas, a big fan of the two-time Critics Choice Award winner, invited her to watch him play. The Greek tennis star says he is a huge fan of the Australian actress and would love her to support him from the Melbourne Park stands.
"Can you hear them? Australia is such a great country," Tsitsipas said, reacting to roars from the crowd. "I like a lot of great Aussie things. One of my favourite actresses comes from Australia, Margot Robbie."
Former Australian Open champion Jim Courier, surprised by that unprompted mention, said: "Are you pitching right now?" That prompted Tsitsipas to say: "It would be nice to see her over there one day." Tsitsipas will play Karen Khachanov in the last four, and has won all five of their previous meetings.
“It's a match that I'm looking forward to,” he said. “Of course, I'm definitely happy with the way I've been playing so far. I'm looking ahead for more, for better. Looking to create some magical experiences here in Australia.”
After defeating Lehecka, the third seed was asked if he has what it takes to lift his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne and provided a definitive answer. “I'm feeling great with my tennis. I don't think I felt so good in a long time. I will definitely say yes [to winning the title],” Tsitsipas added.
“I've said it, I'm a different player, playing different. My mentality is different. When I'm out on the court, I don't really think of negatives, to be honest. I just go out there and play the game.”
