Newly-crowned ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas believes he can break the big three’s Grand Slam stranglehold.
Not since 2016 has a player outside Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal won one of the four major titles.
But the Greek, who defeated Dominic Thiem 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 in a thrilling final at the O2 last night, is confident someone will make the breakthrough next season.
“They [Novak, Roger and Rafa] have been sharing how many Grand Slams? I don’t know, 60-something?” he said “For us, for the young guys, it’s all about time. We will have to beat them or wait for them [to retire].
“I feel like my game is getting better and I believe I’m close to being crowned a Grand Slam champion. These are strong words but I do feel like I belong in that position.”
The winner of the ATP Finals has failed to live up to their billing in recent seasons. Grigor Dimitrov suffered a monumental dip in form after his 2017 win, while defending champion Alexander Zverev qualified again for London this year but has made just one Grand Slam quarter-final this season.
Tsitsipas, 21, reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open before suffering first-round exits at both Wimbledon and the US Open. But he appears on the right trajectory. Three years ago he was Thiem’s hitting partner at the O2, last year he won the NextGen Finals for the best up-and-coming male player and now he has pocketed £2million for beating the world’s best.
He hopes to enjoy more success in London next season. Tsitsipas said: “Wimbledon is a tournament that has a lot of traditions and most of the players want to win it above any other. But any Grand Slam would be great.”
This year’s ATP event was one of the best ever — from the quality and close nature of the matches to the potential for the future, with four players aged 23 or under of the eight to have qualified.
With Djokovic and Nadal having been knocked out in the group stages, Tsitsipas hinted the only way for a new face to win a major title would be if any of the big guns suffered surprise early exits.
He said: “Their domination makes it difficult for the rest of us. Someone needs to defeat them in the early rounds because once they get deep in a tournament, they play better and better.”
