Stefanos Tsitsipas was seen reminiscing about his first drinking experience on the Tour alongside legends like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Greek was part of Team Europe at the Laver Cup alongside Federer and Nadal.
Stefanos Tsitsipas Recounts His First Drinking Experience With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
During the 2019 Laver Cup, Stefanos Tsitsipas was drafted into Team Europe alongside Federer and Nadal, two giants of the sport. In a recent episode of What’s the Call podcast, the Greek recounted his memories of his first drinking experience alongside the two icons of the sport.
He candidly expressed that it was a great celebration between teammates who would otherwise be competing against each other on the Tour. The Greek player appreciated the camaraderie within the group, turning tennis into a team sport rather than an individual one.
“I got drunk for the very first time with Rafa and Roger. That was the first time I ever drank alcohol in my life. Great way to start it, actually, like I couldn’t ask for anything better. I had no idea, like what to order. Like, I’ve never tried anything in my life, and Roger’s like, ‘Come on, you’ve got to have a drink.’
I was like, ‘Well, OK,’ if Roger says I’ve gotta have a drink.. I’ve gotta have a drink. So, it was one of those memorable nights that makes you appreciate tennis for being a team sport because that week we were all teammates, we were not competing against each other,” said Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas had a good outing at his first Laver Cup in 2019, where he won his singles match against Taylor Fritz. He teamed up with both Federer and Nadal in the doubles, but was unable to win on any of those occasions. However, Team Europe beat Team World to win their third consecutive title.
On court, Tsitsipas had some memorable moments against Federer and Nadal, especially at the Australian Open. In 2019, the Greek had his first breakthrough moment, winning against Federer in the fourth round, with the Swiss being the two-time defending champion in Melbourne.
Then, once again in 2021, Tsitsipas staged a memorable comeback from being two sets to love down against Nadal at the Australian Open, winning against the Spaniard in five sets.
However, the former World No. 3 has been struggling with his on-court performances in the last two years. Last year, he had a modest 22-18 win-loss record, with one title in Dubai. Even though the title was on a hard court, the Greek player had a 7-10 win-loss record on the surface for the other events in the year.
What has been even more staggering is the poor run of performances by Tsitsipas at the Majors. In his last five Slam appearances, the two-time Grand Slam runner-up has not been able to get past the second round. Currently, he is ranked 33 in the world with 1485 points, but if he cannot defend his 500 points in Dubai later this month, there is a real danger that the Greek might fall out of the Top 50 on the ATP Rankings.
