Stefanos Tsitsipas Shares Experience of 2-Hour Dinner Date with Novak Djokovic After Calling Tennis ‘Very Lonely Sport’

Stefanos Tsitsipas is gearing up for the Qatar Open, whose main draw is scheduled to start on February 16. On the same day, the Greek ace will be starting his campaign against Moez Echargui.

But two-time Qatar Open champion Novak Djokovic deemed it best to withdraw from the Doha event due to “strong fatigue”. Djokovic played the final of the Australian Open, where Carlos Alcaraz came from a set down to deny him his career’s 24th Grand Slam title.

Last year at the Qatar Open, he suffered an opening-round exit with a straight-set defeat at the hands of Matteo Berrettini. Also, last year, the Serbian great permanently relocated to Athens, where he participated in the first edition of the Hellenic Championship and defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the final to win his second ATP 250 title of the season.

Tsitsipas was also scheduled to play in the ATP 250 home event, but he withdrew. During his recent interview with Theodora and Andrea on their podcast, What’s the Call?, the 27-year-old, like many of his former and current colleagues, talked about how, because of the individual nature of tennis, players feel lonely on the tour before narrating what happened when he invited Djokovic to his hometown of Vouliagmeni for a dinner date.

It’s a very individualistic sport. It’s really a very lonely sport. And you’re always on the move, always on the go. You don’t have time to settle. And it’s very unpredictable as well. You don’t know where you’re going to leave. Day by day, you’re trying to see where that leads to. So I had dinner with Novak a few months ago in my hometown, Vouliagmeni. And that was the first few weeks when he moved to Greece. So I obviously invited him. We had a nice little dinner for two hours.

In those two hours, Tsitsipas tried to pick the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s brain and came away with a “lot of insightful stuff”.

I was very curious to learn from him. I’m really curious to learn from his career, from his lessons that he’s learned throughout his career, his medical stuff, all these things that he does.

Stefanos Tsitsipas added

Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic in the 2023 Australian Open final, has yet to make a deep run this year. He lost in his opening round of the Adelaide International and in his second matches of the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Open.

Marin Cilic on Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open run

After surviving a scare against Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (Musetti won the first two sets but retired mid-match), Novak Djokovic did the unthinkable by knocking out two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Marin Cilic, who has also reached the twilight of his career, made the third round of the Melbourne Slam, losing to Casper Ruud in four sets. He next lost to Taylor Fritz in the semifinal of the Dallas Open and is set to play Brandon Nakashima at the Delray Beach Open. While in Dallas, Cilic was asked whether Djokovic’s recent performances motivated him.

Huge inspiration, you can see how devoted he is. Even after last year, for a champion as he is, having four Slam semifinals and tough losses against Jannik and Carlos in those four. And still keeps on believing, working on his game.

Marin Cilic told Tennis Channel

The 38-year-old made the semifinals of every Major last year. Sinner beat him at the French Open and Wimbledon, while Alcaraz eliminated him at the US Open. Both Sinner and Alcaraz will be playing the Qatar Open.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Drops Cultural Bombshell After Controversial Move Out of Serbia: “I Feel Greek”

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW