"He's a very selfish person": Stefanos Tsitsipas jokes Novak Djokovic winning Australian Open 10 times is behind empty Grand Slam cabinet

As the 2024 Australian Open approaches it's mid-point, tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has jokingly attributed his lack of a title Down Under to the selfish behavior of World No.1 Novak Djokovic.

Tsitsipas advanced to the third round after securing a 4-6 7-6(6) 6-2 7-6(4) win over Aussie hopeful Jordan Thompson. The Greek ace finished runner-up to Djokovic at last year's final. Furthermore, Tsitsipas also fell to his Serbian foe in the final of the 2021 French Open, making it two separate occasions where Djokovic has prevented him from winning his maiden Grand Slam trophy.

As the World No.7 prepares to face unseeded Frenchman Luca van Assche in the next round, he poked fun at Djokovic as being the only obstacle preventing him and others from winning their first Grand Slam title.

“Numbers don’t lie,” Tsitsipas said. “Novak has been able to win here 10 times, he’s a very selfish person! I think if he wakes up one day feeling less selfish, a ‘sharing is caring’ type of vibe...There are two scenarios: if someone is to beat Novak that isn’t me, or it has to be me. We have to find a way.”