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Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Onus on younger generation to beat 'big three' at Wimbledon - Tsitsipas

FILE PHOTO: Jun 2, 2019; Paris, France: Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) reacts against Stan Wawrinka (not pictured) on day eight of the 2019 French Open at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - Younger players must take responsibility and break the hegemony at Wimbledon to ensure there is a new champion this year, Greek world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas has said.

Since 2003, one of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray have won the title at Wimbledon, with the Swiss leading the way with eight titles.

Former champion Boris Becker had slated the younger generation's inability to challenge the 'Big Three' of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic -- who have won every major over the last 2-1/2 years -- and Tsitsipas hoped to be the one to accomplish the feat at Wimbledon.

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 9, 2019. Spain's Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after his final match against Austria's Dominic Thiem at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

"I would love to see something different this year. Hopefully it will be me," Tsitsipas, 20, told reporters. "It would give it a little bit of variety, something different to these guys.

"We are responsible as the new generation to work hard to come up with something new and our best games to beat them. Some don't want to take the responsibility of going out and overcoming all those difficulties and beat those guys."

Tsitsipas has already beaten Federer and Nadal at the Australian Open and Madrid Open respectively this year but he said it was not up to just him or 22-year-old world number five Alexander Zverev to carry the torch for the younger players.

FILE PHOTO: Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic poses during a photoshoot at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, Australia January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

"There are others," Tsitsipas added. "Felix (Auger-Aliassime), Denis (Shapovalov), Taylor (Fritz), Alex (de Minaur), Frances (Tiafoe)... We want a big, big rivalry in the future."

Tsitsipas is the top seed at the Queen's Club Championships, a traditional warm-up grasscourt tournament before Wimbledon, and plays Briton Kyle Edmund in the first round on Tuesday.

Wimbledon begins on July 1.

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne, Australia, January 29, 2018. Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with the men's singles trophy during the winner's photoshoot at the government house in Melbourne, Australia. REUTERS/Issei Kato

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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