Sign Of The Times: Tsitsipas Challenging For US Open Title
World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas has been having fun this year imitating Seth, the ‘DudeWithSign’ influencer with 7.7m Instagram followers. The Greek has lifted cardboard signs with simple messages for his own Instagram followers, including a cheeky one that revealed Nick Kyrgios’ phone number. On the eve of the US Open, Tsitsipas connected with Seth inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, later detailing the meeting in Friday’s pre-tournament press conference at Flushing Meadows.
“Seth is a really humble and nice guy. We had good times with him yesterday,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m glad I met him. My initial goal when I started this is to someday get to meet him and get to do a collab with him. I’m glad it happened here. He’s someone that I kind of look up to a lot. Something simple as what he does, in a way it is much more complex than it looks like. The way he spreads messages, the way he entertains people is unique on its own.”
Tsitsipas posted on Instagram an image of himself holding a sign saying ‘Get A Haircut’ next to Seth, whose sign read ‘Win A Grand Slam’. That may have prompted the media Friday to ask about his own haircare routine during the pandemic.
“I don’t remember cutting my hair during lockdown, so you can imagine the situation there,” he said. “I don’t remember anyone cutting my hair. I wouldn’t trust anyone with cutting my hair.”
The third seed will open his US Open campaign with a first-time meeting with 2012 champion Andy Murray. The former World No. 1 is playing his second major of the year after missing the Australian Open and Roland Garros due to injury.
“He’s someone that has been putting a lot of work to get back and has been playing very good tennis to be standing where he’s at right now. I think I’m going to go for it, try my chances against him,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s someone that won’t give up. I’ll have to bring some good tennis from my side.”
The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion, who leads the Tour with 48 match wins this season, is well aware of the history that Novak Djokovic will be attempting to create in the coming fortnight. If the World No.1 were to win in New York, he would complete the Grand Slam and pass Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with a record-breaking 21 major titles.
“Respect for him. He’s an example of someone who commits himself a lot to the game and tries to get the best possible out of it. I really wish for me to maybe one day be at that level of consistency and be able to dominate Grand Slams at such level,” Tsitsipas said. “It is something that comes with time. I think he has learned throughout the years how to preserve his best strengths and kind of expose them at the right moment, at the right time.”