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London (AFP)
If Stefanos Tsitsipas turns into Greece’s first Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon, his first ideas can be for his father Apostolos whose split-second bravery as soon as saved his son from drowning.
There aren’t many athletes whose careers and outlooks have been cast by near-death experiences, however the 22-year-old world quantity 4 is an exception.
In 2015, whereas participating in a third-tier Futures occasion in Crete, a teenage Tsitsipas and a good friend went swimming however nearly fatally misjudged the energy of the currents.
The 2 boys had been simply moments from being swept away till quick-thinking Apostolos dived in to information them again to security.
“We could not breathe, I felt terrible to be contained in the water and was terrified. I did not understand how all this was going to finish,” Tsitsipas recalled.
“My father noticed us from afar and he jumped in, began swimming in direction of us and pushed us in direction of the seashore. I used to be only a few breaths away from dying.”
“If we had been presupposed to die and lose our lives that day, we must do it collectively. My father was a hero.
“That was the day I noticed life with a distinct perspective. I bear in mind after that how a lot psychologically it modified me.”
Tsitsipas shares the identical birthday with Pete Sampras, who can be of Greek origin, and is studious, contemplative.
He speaks Greek, English and Russian and when he’s not producing his personal on-the-road podcast is making an attempt to grasp Spanish and Chinese language.
– ‘Devoted, good man’ –
Sport is in his genes. Life-saving Apostolos is his coach whereas mom Julia Salnikova is an ex-tennis professional.
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His grandfather, Sergei Salnikov, was a 1956 Olympic gold medallist in soccer taking part in for the Soviet Union.
Since turning professional in 2016, Tsitsipas’s profession has been on a steadily upward curve.
He was ranked 210 on the earth in his first season however was inside the highest 100 by the tip of 2017 and as excessive as 5 in 2018, the primary Greek to realize such a standing.
By the point he was 21 he had already swept wins over the game’s three largest beasts — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Tsitsipas was the primary Greek man to win a tour title.
This month he got here agonisingly near the French Open crown, racing right into a two units lead within the closing over Djokovic earlier than the world primary mounted an epic comeback to assert victory.
Tsitsipas has seven titles together with a primary Masters at Monte Carlo on this 12 months’s clay court docket swing.
Whereas he was nonetheless 21, he captured the 2019 season-ending ATP Finals title, turning into the youngest champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.
Proving he has nerves of metal when the strain is ramped up, Tsitsipas saved 12 of 12 break factors to defeat Federer on his method to the 2019 Australian Open semi-final.
Blond-haired and standing 6ft 4ins (1.93m) tall, Tsitsipas is the game’s picture-perfect public face and seen because the pure inheritor to Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Forty years on from Bjorn Borg mania at Wimbledon, he’s prone to discover himself within the crosshairs of the British tabloids over the subsequent two weeks on the All England Membership.
He’s additionally creating rivalries which is able to hold followers engaged.
Present world quantity two Daniil Medvedev, who the Greek comfortably defeated within the quarter-finals in Paris, as soon as described Tsitsipas’s sport as “boring”.
Tsitsipas referred to as Medvedev a “bullshit Russian” in a fiery encounter in Miami.
Djokovic, no stranger to controversy himself, is a fan.
“He’s a tough employee, devoted, good man,” mentioned the Serb.
“He is very good and clever. I really like the truth that he’s greater than only a tennis participant and he is at all times seeking to study from expertise and to grasp one thing new about himself.
“That is the trait of a champion, of somebody who has nice potential to be primary on the earth and win Slams and be a terrific ambassador for the game.”
© 2021 AFP
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