Stefanos Tsitsipas has invited Margot Robbie to watch him at the Australian Open after charging through to the semi-finals in Melbourne.
The Greek tennis star says he is a huge fan of the Australian actor and would love her to support him from the Melbourne Park stands.
His surprise shout-out to Robbie came after Tsitsipas scored a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win against unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas was partway through explaining his impressive display to on-court interviewer Jim Courier, detailing how it took "experience and some good Spartan attitude" to get the better of Lehecka, when he mentioned the 32-year-old Hollywood star.
Robbie, married to English film producer Tom Ackerley, became well known in Australia and the UK for her role in the soap opera Neighbours before turning to Hollywood.
Her career includes prominent roles in movies including The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad and I, Tonya, as well as being the voice of Flopsy Rabbit in the Peter Rabbit film series.
"Can you hear them? Australia is such a great country," Tsitsipas said, reacting to roars from the crowd.
"I like a lot of great Aussie things. One of my favourite actresses comes from Australia, Margot Robbie."
Former Australian Open champion Courier, surprised by that unprompted mention, said: "Are you pitching right now?"
That prompted Tsitsipas to say: "It would be nice to see her over there one day."
Was that an invitation to Robbie?
"Absolutely," Tsitsipas said.
The 24-year-old Greek player soon stressed that his Robbie fandom was not the main reason for him enjoying Australia.
"That's not it," Tsitsipas said. "The people are very welcoming. I've said that so many times and will keep saying it because it's true.
"I grew up in a place that's very similar in terms of conditions and lifestyle and find myself feeling home when I'm here because it's not too tropical, and it's not too humid, and it very much feels like home.
"The French players have Roland Garros as their home grand slam, the British players have Wimbledon, the Americans have the US Open; for me, the Australian Open is always going to be my home grand slam.
"I would love one day hopefully winning the Aussie Open and giving a bit portion of the prize-money to build a school in Victoria which is the state of education. I'd like to do that."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
