The last group of quarantined players in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open were set leave their hotels at midnight on Saturday night. Among them were the Greek ATP Cup team.
The team consists of World Number 6 tennis champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas, his brother Petros Tsitsipas, Mihalis Pervolarakis and Markos Kalovelonis.
The Greek team’s first stop was to iconic Greek restaurant in Melbourne, Stalactites. The restaurant is a favourite of Stefanos’ after they created the ‘Tsitsipas Souvlaki’ last year to honour the tennis player and help the bushfire relief effort.
In a nice turn of events, the souvlaki has been re-launched this year as well to raise money for COVID-19 relief.
READ MORE: Tsitsipas serves up souvlaki for bushfires.
I sit down for a chat and a souvlaki with Greek God.. World number 6 tennis champ.. Stefanos Tsitsipas! Grab some ouzo and tune-in to @9NewsMelb with @phitchener9 at 6pm
— Allan Raskall (@AllanRaskall) February 1, 2021pic.twitter.com/6wQ836Xhkr
This year, Greece has been drawn in Group B at the 2021 ATP Cup alongside last year’s finalist pain and host nation Australia.
Stefanos said in an interview with ATP on Sunday that he’s looking forward to playing in his “favourite event” and make the Greeks of Australia proud.
READ MORE: Greece to face Australia and Spain at ATP Cup.
“People are going to be cheering our name, and being louder than any other nation, it’s great. Greeks are very proud, and especially the Greeks of Australia. They are twice as proud as back home…” Stefanos said in the interview.
“There’s an extra reason for me to go out and represent, play well. There’s a lot of support that we’re going to have this week. I’m very, very happy and glad that we have such a huge army backing us up.”
