“Someone has to beat Novak or it has to be me,” Stefanos Tsitsipas doesn’t hold back on ‘selfish’ Novak Djokovic, who has 10 Australian Open titles already

Stefanos Tsitsipas has made it to two Grand Slam finals in his career so far and was defeated by Novak Djokovic in both matches.

“Someone has to beat Novak or it has to be me,” Stefanos Tsitsipas doesn’t hold back on ‘selfish’ Novak Djokovic, who has 10 Australian Open titles already

Stefanos Tsitsipas (L), Novak Djokovic (R) (Source: Imago)

Stefanos Tsitsipas has kicked off his 2023 Australian Open campaign on a positive note. He has won the first two rounds of the tournament and has already qualified for the third round effortlessly. The Greek international has a good record in the Grand Slam but has never managed to win the title yet. 

After he registered a sensational win in the second round, former World No. 1 John McEnroe asked him on the court what, according to Tsitsipas, it would take for him to win his first Grand Slam.

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He came very close to doing so on two occasions in the past, after reaching the finals of the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open. Unfortunately, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic on both occasions. 

FS Video

Tsitsipas thus sarcastically remarked that the Serb would have to be a bit less selfish and let others win for him to lift his first Grand Slan title.

Moreover, he said that either someone else will have to beat the Serb or he will have to find the confidence to do so. 

There are two scenarios. Either someone has to beat Novak who is not me or it has to be me. So we have to find a way.
Staefnaos said during on-court interview
It’s one of the two scenarios and I think numbers don’t lie. Novak has been able to win here ten times, he’s a very selfish person. So I think if he just manages to wake up one day and feel less selfish with a ‘sharing is caring’ type of vibe, then I guess.
Continuing further, he added

Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Luca Van Assche in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open 

Stefanos Tsitsipas has played exceptionally well in the 2024 Australian Open so far. He defeated Belgian Zizou Bergs in the first round in four sets, and his second-round victory against Jordan Thompson came after a four-set thriller.

In both matches, he came back after losing the first set, which is definitely a positive. 

Luca Van Assche (L), Stefanos Tsitsipas (R)
Luca Van Assche (L), Stefanos Tsitsipas (R) (Sources: Tennis Majors, Tennis Tonic)

World No. 79 Luca Van Assche, on the other hand, has reached the third round after a considerable amount of struggle. He defeated James Duckworth in the first round and Lorenzo Musetti in the second round. Both were intense five-set matches. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Luca Van Assche have not played against each other yet and this shall be their first meeting ever. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was a finalist in the Australian Open last year, remains the favorite to win in this match. 

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