Stefanos Tsitsipas could have gotten Australian passport, regrets Pat Cash

commented on origins. The 20-year-old was born in Greece but he reportedly trained in Australia for some time. Cash believes that Tsitsipas could have become an Australian in the past.

It is not well known that there was a time in his formative years where he almost became an adopted Australian, said the former world No. 4. The Greek economy is not exactly conducive to funding upcoming sports stars.

So with Melbourne possessing the largest Greek population of any city in the world outside of Greece, the possibilities were obvious. Tennis Australia explored the possibilities and was given quite a bit of encouragement. Less talented players and certainly more problematic youngsters have ended up with an Australian passport.

There would have been none of the headaches created by Bernard Tomic, for instance. For unknown reasons the proposed relocation fell through and Tsitsipas continued his development in Europe, splitting his time between Athens and Paris where he teamed up with Serena Williams coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

For reasons best known to Tennis Australia and the Tsitsipas family, the switch of nationality did not happen. Perhaps it was a simple case of insufficient money on offer, quite possibly something else but as a competitor, and an aggressive player who is not afraid of reputations, Stefanos has shown steady improvement.

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