No Greek tennis participant has ever been the final man or lady standing on the finish of a singles Grand Slam occasion.
But in 2023 we shouldn’t be stunned if we see the historical past books rewritten. That is in line with Maria Sakkari.
Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments together with Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
The 27-year-old celebrity from Greece will enter her eighth consecutive Australian Open when the match will get underway on Monday.
After a “hectic year” which noticed her attain a profession excessive rank of quantity three on this planet, Sakkari solely managed to go additional than the third spherical at one Grand Slam.
“Obviously a lot of ups and downs but it was very helpful that I finished the year strong,” Sakkari informed news.com.au.
“It made my off-season very pleasant and a very nice time to relax. Now I feel ready for another season.”
Currently listed simply exterior the highest 10 on betting markets to be the final lady standing, it’s her countryman, Stefanos Tsitsipas, that she believes might grow to be the primary participant from Greece to be holding a Grand Slam trophy aloft.
“I would be very happy for Stefanos because he deserves it, he has been in the top 10 for the past few years from a very young age,” she stated.
“We got to spend time together on the court the past few weeks at the United Cup, he’s playing unbelievable and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does win this Grand Slam because his level is the best I’ve seen him play.
“But it would be amazing if we could win at the same time. It would be like Euro 2004 when Greece won. It’s going to be very big for the country.”
Tsitsipas is presently listed because the equal third likeliest participant to take residence the Australian Open trophy, behind Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev whereas being on the identical line of betting as Nick Kyrgios.
Unlike Tsitsipas nonetheless, Sakkari options in Netflix’s new collection Break Point which provides followers a glance backstage into the gamers lives on tour.
The collection, which launched globally on January 13, showcases a number of the video games largest stars and offers followers an unrivalled perception into their lives and careers.
While the collection goals to emulate the success of Netflix’s smash hit Drive to Survive, the marketplace for selecting gamers is much larger in relation to the world of tennis.
It was an arduous job however one government producer Paul Martin stated all got here right down to the tales behind the gamers.
“Our biggest thing is story and where we think we’ll be able to tell the best kind of story,” Martin stated to news.com.au.
“We don’t look at these worlds and try and tick demographics. It doesn’t work like that, if you try and do that you run into trouble.
“If we’d have applied that logic we never would have had Ons Jabeur from Tunisia and I think she’s one of the breakout characters of the series.”
Martin rattled off a bunch of moments from the collection that caught out as his personal private favourites nevertheless it was one from an Aussie that he remembers one of the best.
“You’ll see it in the second half of the season, Ajla Tomljanovic when she faces down Serena Williams in one of the most hostile atmospheres,” Martin stated.
“I don’t think there was a person in that stadium probably above and beyond her dad that wanted her to win that game.
“The way she was able to walk in there and perform the way she did was phenomenal and I think by the end of it had won the respect of entire crowd.
“To be in the stadium that night was a pretty special moment.”
