Stefanos Tsitsipas has many things in common with some top players, among them, he was a great soccer player. Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Roger Federer are part of the top tennis players that had to take the painful decision to choose between soccer and tennis. Fortunately, they good the right turn.
During a recent interview, Stefanos’ father, Apostolos, revealed that his son for some years was playing tennis, soccer and basketball. The world no.6 was one of the best forwarders when playing football, but then at 14 years of age, he decided to stay only with tennis. He was the Greek no.1 in his category when he was 12. Eventually, Apostolos conceded that playing different sports helped Stefanos from a mental point of view.
Here a video of Stefanos practicing some soccer with fellow Greek star and (once) rumored girlfriend Maria Sakkari.
Federer, Nadal, and Thiem playing soccer
Also Roger Federer used to play soccer at a decent level. However, he admitted that he was not allowed to play the matches over the weekend as he couldn’t train during the all week with the team because he was playing tennis.
Federer: ‘Why I chose tennis over soccer, even if I was good.’ VIDEO
Rafael Nadal was extremely talented when he played soccer but he also chose to stay with tennis. However, the Spaniard still has a huge passion for his favorite team, Real Madrid, even if his uncle used to be one of the top players of FC Barcelona.
Dominic Thiem is another tennis player that is very talented at playing soccer. The world no.4 loves playing with his team especially during the off season. In the following video, he showed some serious skills with Nadal.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.6, Tsitsipas played his last match on the 17th of November when he beat Dominic Thiem 6-76 6-2 7-64 in the final in London to win his 4th career title.
This year Tsitsipas has a 53-25 win-loss record. Tsitsipas clinched 3 titles in 2019 in Marseille, in Estoril and in London. Stefanos was the finalist in Dubai, in Madrid and in Beijing.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 16th of November when he surrendered to Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London.
This year the Swiss has a 51-10 win-loss record. Roger conquered 4 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami, in Halle and in Basel. The Swiss was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer played each other 5 times. The head to head is 3-2 for Federer.
The last time that they locked horns, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London (Nitto ATP Finals) on the 16th of November 2019.
Here the highlights.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Now the world no.1, Nadal played his last match on the 15th of November when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-74 6-4 7-5 in the round robin in London.
This year the Spaniard has a 52-7 win-loss record. The Spaniard clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. The Spaniard was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Dominic Thiem’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.4 (career-high), Thiem played his last match on the 17th of November when he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-76 6-2 7-64 in the final in London.
This year the Austrian has a 47-17 win-loss record. The Austrian conquered 5 titles in 2019 in Indian Wells, in Barcelona, in Kitzbuhel, in Beijing and in Vienna. Thiem was the finalist at the French Open and in London.
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem played each other 13 times. The head to head is 9-4 for Nadal.
The last time that they fought against each other, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 in the final in Paris (French Open) on the 09th of June 2019.
