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Tsitsipas sets sights on tennis big guns

3 minute read

Stefanos Tsitsipas has signalled his intention to run down the big three of men's tennis as he prepares to lead Greece in the inaugural ATP Cup in Brisbane.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS of Greece.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS of Greece. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Stefanos Tsitsipas says he'll be even better this year but knows that still might not be enough to crack the "super human" big three of men's tennis.

Whether any of the sport's emerging talent can beat Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at a major is a topic of interest ahead of the season-opening ATP Cup from Friday.

The trio have combined to win the last 12 grand slams but Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev made finals last year while world No.6 Tsitsipas claimed the year-end ATP Finals.

The Greek star is gunning for them but, ahead of his country's ATP Cup opener against Canada in Brisbane, he says it'll be a work in progress.

"I kind of compare them to me to see what works for them and what I should work on more, and they're just super humans in a way," he said.

"I'm trying to get there myself and I'm going to keep trying to do my best because I feel like I can surpass them, I can be better.

"It's just a matter of time, patience, and dedication on what I do."

World No.2 Djokovic (Serbia) and No.1 Nadal (Spain) will also feature in the ATP Cup in Brisbane and Perth respectively, while Tsitsipas will lead an underdog Greek outfit that also features brother Petros and father Apostolos as captain.

He will play Canadian No.1 and world No.15 Denis Shapovalov while Canada, who made the recent Davis Cup final against Spain, boast world No.21 Felix Auger-Aliassime as their No.2 singles player.

Tsitsipas - the most Googled person in Greece last year - has already tapped into the strong Greek community in Brisbane, celebrating New Year's Eve at a club and inviting fans to support their unlikely charge at Pat Rafter Arena from Friday.

"We are up-comers, newcomers... call it whatever you like but they're (Canada) not familiar with most of the players here so we can use it as an element of surprise," Tsitsipas said.

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