Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has won the hearts of Greeks and Australians alike thanks to his performance at the Australian Open… it now seems that he will also win our stomaches!
If he remains true to form, he could follow in the footsteps of 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis and have a souvlaki named in his honour. The decision came after Tsitsipas named Stalactites in the Melbourne CBD as one of his favourite restaurants, while also complimenting the dish named after the 2006 Australian Open finalist. The restaurant is reciprocating the compliment by considering the creation of a new souvlaki in honour of the young tennis ace.
Stalactites manager Nicole Papasavvas told Neos Kosmos said that the specific souvlaki dish named after Baghdatis had not only been created to pay tribute to his excellent performance at the Australian Open, but also also the result of the athlete’s formidable relationship with the Stalactites staff during his time in Australia.
“Back in the day, Marcos was one of our greatest supporters and we were one of his greatest supporters. He used to be here almost every night during the Australian Open, he used to bring his team here and his coaches and everyone and we would look after them,” Papasavvas said.
“And whenever he needed anything, we would go all the way to his hotel and bring him food there. We had a fun, good relationship with him.And he did so well that year, he went all the way to the final and we were behind him, supporting him all the way”.
Regarding Tsitsipas, Mrs Papasavvas pointed out that they would be all but willing to grant him a similar honour: “Yeah, maybe! If he could have a good run to the final like Marcos then we can definitely name a souvlaki after him too.”
Additionally, the store manager said that the 20-year-old was not the only Greek tennis player who was a fan of the restaurant: “Kyrgios and Kokkinakis are both regular customers here. Kyrgios was here all the time last year and Kokkinakis visited us just a few weeks ago”.
Mrs Papasavvas expressed her best wishes towards both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari as they move on to the next round of the Australian Open and expressed her joy for the continued development of Greek athletes within the sport.