Tsitsipas fires post-Nadal, Djokovic and Federer warning as he aims dig at Medvedev

Stefanos Tsitsipas has opened up on the future of tennis after the Big Three have retired. The Greek is part of the next generation of players expected to win the big titles when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic end their careers, but believes there won’t be the same dominance once they retire.

Tsitsipas is one of the young talents that has stepped up in the Big Three era.

The world No 4 has defeated Federer, Djokovic and Nadal twice each and lifted the ATP Finals trophy back in 2018.

Last year he made it to his first Grand Slam final, leading by two sets to love over world No 1 Djokovic before losing in five at the French Open.

Along with the Greek star, the likes of US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev have been tipped to win the biggest titles when the Big Three eventually retire.

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Tsitsipas has now given his verdict on the future of tennis, and admitted he doesn’t believe himself, Medvedev and Zverev will become something of a new Big Three, with more players splitting the Grand Slams.

“How do I see the future of tennis? I didn’t know I am a prophet,” he laughed, when asked ahead of the Rotterdam ATP 500 event this week, where he is the top seed.

“I see the future of tennis having a top six or a top eight. Top eight guys competing for Grand Slams titles.”

Several players around Tsitsipas’ age have also been tipped for great success, including the likes of young Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who won the ATP Cup for Canada together at the start of the season.

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This week’s defending champion in Rotterdam, Andrey Rublev, has also already cracked the top ten, along with 20-year-old Jannik Sinner and last year’s Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz.

As well as a more event playing field, the 23-year-old also admitted he thought there would be more “hype” around tennis.

With a Drive to Survive-style Netflix documentary for tennis currently in the works, with Tsitsipas as one of the players who has signed up to be followed by crews early on in the process, he could be right about the sport attracting a new host of fans.

He added: “I see a lot of hype and evolutions in sense of concept and rebrand of our sport.”

Tsitsipas also aimed a jibe at some of his fellow young players, speaking to his ability across all surfaces.

Some of his rivals including Medvedev have famously struggled more on clay and grass compared to the hard courts, while Tsitsipas has made the second week of Majors across all three surfaces at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“I think I’m able to play on all surfaces,” he said.

“I don’t want [to be] the one that can play good only on one surface.

“I’m capable of playing equally well on all of them and produce points on all surfaces ATP offers during the season.”