Stefanos Tsitsipas on Big Three missing Miami Open: ‘We get a taste of how it is playing without them’

ATP Tour
Stefanos Tsitsipas swinging

Tennis is getting its “first test” for life after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Miami Open, according to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

There is no Big Three at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium in the United States as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are skipping the event for various reasons while reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem is also absent.

It means world No 2 Daniil Medvedev is the top seed this week with Tsitsipas seeded second and the Greek sees it as a big opportunity for the players other than Messrs Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

“It’s a first test to see how it is playing without them,” he said. “There is going to be a time in the future where this is going to be more frequent and happening more regularly, and maybe even a standard soon.

“So, yeah, we get a taste of how it is playing without them.”

Tsitsipas secured his place in the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Bosnian lucky loser Damir Dzumhur on Saturday and up next is Kei Nishikori.

“There isn’t much I can tell you, it was a great match,” he said. “I started the match very strong, breaking him twice and taking a big lead in the score, and I think the things worked out by themself after that.

“I created lot of opportunities with my serve, finding the right angles and executing it perfectly. Even with my second serve I felt like I did a lot of damage, not giving him a chance to press first and apply pressure with his shots.”

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Stefanos Tsitsipas

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