In the Australian media they call him ‘the Greek freak', a ‘member of the new guard’ and even a ‘giant-killer,’ referring to his progression into the semi-final of the Australian Grand Slam, and of course, his stunning four-sets vanquishing of Roger Federer.
At just 20 years of age, Stefanos Tsitsipas has steadily climbed world tennis rankings from no. 1600 to no. 15 in the last 4 years. However, the golden-locked Greek star also has Russian heritage and a special connection to Melbourne, as his mother Julia Apostoli (née Salnikova) exclusively tells SBS Russian.
In fact, during the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Stefanos’s grandfather, Sergey Salnikov, won the gold medal as part of the Soviet football team.
“When Styopa [the Russian name for Stefanos] played at the Australian Open as a junior, we discovered the place where his grandfather won the medal,” says Julia.
“We went to see it and stood at the spot where the stadium used to be. Unfortunately, it’s no longer there.”
Soviet goalkeeper Lev Jasin relaxing with his team mate Sergej Salnikov at the FIFA World Cup. Stockholm, June 1958. Source: Mondadori Portfolio Editorial
Julia is a former professional tennis player herself and former world number one in the junior division.
She met her husband Apostolos Tsitsipas in Athens and decided to tie her life to him and his beautiful country. She found the weather to be warmer than in Russia, the food to be nice, as she says, it was hard to say no to life next to Mediterranean sea.
Julia has also tried to preserve her son’s connection to the Russian culture. Stefanos speaks Russian fluently and he has a Russian nickname – Styopa. However, she agrees that her son is a true Greek in his cheerful spirit.
Tennis was not the first choice for Stefanos. As a kid, he played football, athletics and competed in swimming. But it came to choosing a career path, his parents’ previous experiences in tennis were a big help.
"Since he was born, I knew he would be a tennis player and I knew he would make something incredible of himself,” says the proud mother, reflecting on her son knocking out the 20-time Grand Slam and reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer.
Julia disagrees that Styopa got lucky, or that his success is in any way an accident.
“Despite his recent wins, Styopa has not had an easy path,” she says. “If you walk toward your goal meticulously, through ebbs and flows, [winning] doesn’t make you happy, but it makes you satisfied.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas is already a star at home. He has been invited to the Prime Minister’s residence and met the President. The media’s attention to his infectious personality is as strong as his game.
After his defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Roger Federer said popularity can fluctuate. Source: AP Source: AP
Now he is through to the semi-finals and he has won over the crowd in Melbourne, the city with the world's largest Greek population outside Greece. We shall see if he wins it all.
