Stefanos Tsitsipas believes Team Greece’s strength lies in its connection.
“I think our spirit is one of the best among all of the teams,” he said at the inaugural United Cup in 2023. “We have a family-oriented mentality in what we pursue. We are extremely collaborative between each other.
“I think that is something that will give us big chances.”
Greece reached the semifinals on debut and will return as the No.2 seeds at United Cup 2024, a team anchored by Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari.
It makes Greece one of three teams, alongside Poland and defending champions USA, with their top men’s and women’s singles players both ranked inside the top 10.
Impressively, since Sakkari cracked the top 10 in September 2021, she and Tsitsipas have been simultaneously ranked inside this elite group every week since.
Tsitsipas’ record is extraordinary. Since becoming a top-10 player in March 2019, he has remained there for 224 consecutive weeks – the second-longest unbroken stint of all current top-10 players behind Novak Djokovic.
Team Greece opens its United Cup campaign in Group B in Sydney on the morning of Tuesday 2 January.
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And they will be tough to stop, given Sakkari and Tsitsipas’ experience and bond as a team. It’s especially crucial given 2024’s format change is expected to increase the frequency of decisive mixed doubles matches.
The duo first teamed up at the 2019 Hopman Cup – where they finished second in their group – and then at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where they reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals.
At United Cup 2023, they won all three of their mixed doubles matches, improving their overall team record to 6-2.
“It's a big advantage playing with Stefanos, I can tell you that,” Sakkari smiled.
“We knew from day one, from the first match we played together, that we have a very good chemistry on the court.”
Tsitsipas agreed.
“We complement each other with our games,” he said.
“I have potential for sure with my returns from time to time. Maria is very consistent. I have played some, let's say, unofficial practice mixed doubles in the past with some other girls, and they are not able to return the men's serves as good as Maria has been doing.
“Maria is a player that can also volley. She can play better volleys than most of the women out there, and of course her backhand is money.”
Tsitsipas described the inspiration he drew from teaming with Sakkari to represent their country.
“Maria is such a fighter when she's on the court. It's such a pleasure to look at her give her best on the field. I'm quite honoured to be sharing that with her, his piece of history that we are both able to give back home, because it really hasn't been done before,” he said.
“It's a very nice feeling to get to do this together. We don't get the opportunity very often. I have told her at times maybe we should play a Grand Slam mixed doubles, it would be fun.”
It’s unclear whether Tsitsipas and Sakkari will roll their United Cup partnership over into Australian Open 2024, but with players seeking reps on the mixed doubles court in an Olympic year, it remains an option.
Speaking of the Olympics, Tokyo 2020 was an event which forged a closer bond between Sakkari and Tsitsipas.
In 2018, Sakkari received a $30,000 funding grant from the national federation to put toward her Olympic preparation, which she then split with Tsitsipas and a third Greek player, Valentini Grammatikopoulou.
But their connection predates that; both of their mothers are former professional tennis players.
"I've known him since we were kids," Sakkari told WTA Insider. "His mom used to play as well. I guess she stopped earlier than my mom. They remember each other from that time, so it was a family thing."
Both Sakkari and Tsitsipas have gone on to peak at world No.3 in singles – making them the highest-ranked Greek players in history.
They are the pride of a country where they have helped spike interest in the sport, and in Sydney, they will be supported by a sizeable Greek community as they go for United Cup glory.
“I'm glad that the United Cup is a thing now,” Tsitsipas said.
“We've been discussing this for a very long time, combining it with the women. It's really nice to join forces.”
