By Alberto Amalfi | Monday, June 17, 2019
Stefanos Tsitsipas calls Big Four Wimbledon dominance "boring" and asserts he's aiming to break that stronghold at SW19 next month.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
The Big Four cast a championship shadow over Wimbledon.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is ready to cast The Championships in a new light.
Murray: Big 3 Will Extend Wimbledon Reign
The sixth-ranked Greek calls Big Four Wimbledon dominance "boring" and asserts he's aiming to break that stronghold at SW19 next month.
"I want to be honest. I would love to see something different this year," Tsitsipas told the media at Queen’s Club. "Hopefully it can be me, but I think it’s good for the sport to have a bit of variety, something different. It’s boring to see all these guys winning all the time.
"We are responsible for that as well, the new generation, to work hard and believe in ourselves that we can come up with something new, come up with our best games to beat those guys."
Four men—reigning champion Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, who returns to doubles action at Queens Club this week—have combined to claim 16 consecutive Wimbledon crowns since Lleyton Hewitt defeated David Nalbandian in the 2002 final.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Murray says a Big Four player will extend that reign next month.
"I think the winner will come from those three," Murray told the media in London. "I guess it’s possible that some of the guys with huge serves could potentially go on a run and there will maybe be some upsets early on.
"If those guys are fit and healthy and get through the first few rounds, I would expect one of them to come through."
The 20-year-old Tsitsipas surprised 20-time Grand Slam king Federer in a fierce tie-break test in the Australian Open fourth round in January then toppled second-ranked Rafael Nadal on his home soil to reach the Madrid final last month.
The top-seeded Tsitsipas, who opens at Queen's Club against Briton Kyle Edmund, believes he has the competitive character to knock off the Big 4 at the Big W.
‘I think it’s all a matter of character and feeling responsible for what we’re doing on the court," Tsitsipas said. "Some people don’t feel responsible. They don’t want to take that big responsibility of going out and winning and saying: 'I’m going to overcome all those difficulties and I’m going to beat those guys.'
"I feel like I can beat them. My game will be at its finest if some of the Next Gen players believe that, if the younger generations think positively, I think we can achieve a lot of things. I hope this will happen at Wimbledon."