Nick Kyrgios has declared he thinks Stefanos Tsitsipas will win the 2024 Australian Open men’s singles title to claim his maiden Grand Slam crown.
Tsitsipas has identified tennis legend Novak Djokovic as the main obstacle preventing him from winning a major and joked the 10-time Australian Open winner is “selfish.”
The world No 7 has progressed to the third round of the Australian Open with four-set victories over Zizou Bergs and Jordan Thompson in his first two matches.
The Greek has reached two Grand Slam finals – losing to Djokovic in both the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open championship matches.
Tsitsipas led by two sets to love in the Roland Garros final, before the great Serb produced an impressive turnaround. The 25-year-old was then defeated in three tight sets sets by Djokovic at the Melbourne Grand Slam last year.
Following his superb Australian Open run last year, Tsitsipas went on to have a slightly disappointing season for his high standards in 2023.
With a 78% win rate prior to this year’s edition, the Australian Open is Tsitsipas’ most successful Grand Slam event and he has reached at least the semi-finals in four of the last five years.
In a post on Twitter / X, Kyrgios made a big call by predicting Tsitsipas to make his major breakthrough at the 2024 Australian Open.
I think TsiTsipas wins the Aus Open
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 18, 2024
“I think Tsitsipas wins the Aus Open,” wrote the 28-year-old Australian.
Following his hard-fought second round victory over Thompson on Wednesday, Tsitsipas was asked by tennis great John McEnroe what it would take to win the event after coming close previously.
“Well, it’s one of the two scenarios. Numbers don’t lie,” the Greek said in his on-court interview. “Novak has been able to win here 10 times, he’s a very selfish person!
“I think if he wakes up one day feeling less selfish, a ‘sharing is caring’ type of vibe…There are two scenarios: whether someone has to beat Novak that isn’t me, or it has to be me. We will have to find a way, either way.”
In his press conference, Tsitsipas looked ahead to his third round encounter with world No 79 Luca van Assche.
“I played with him [in practice]. He has a good baseline game. He moves very well. He’s not the tallest of players, but he can really play well and stay in the rallies. He has good shots,” the world No 7 assessed.
“From what I remember, on the range of, let’s say, shorter players that he can really do damage by getting balls back and making play, I need to be consistent and stay strong with him, and the rest will have to be shown on the court.”
Tsitsipas could face world No 1 and 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who has not lost at the Australian Open since 2018, in the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
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