It was revealed this month that Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios would be teaming up as doubles partners for the Washington Citi Open.
Some fans were surprised by the pairing – the 20-year-old Greek is ranked 6th in men’s singles and the often-times controversial Kyrgios is ranked 48.
But according to the new owner of the Citi Open, Mark Ein the reason is rather simple.
He said the idea came to him during the Rome Open, when Kyrgios said he would love to partner up with the young Greek. That and creating the opportunity for compelling tennis.
“Since we took over, thinking about highlighting doubles and creating compelling teams to come together has been a focus of ours,” Ein told The New York Times.
The Washington Citi Open kicks off today, 29 July and is on until 4 August.
In the first round Tsitsipas and Kyrgios are scheduled to play Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian, the 2019 Wimbledon men’s doubles champions.
