By REY C. LACHICA
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the flamboyant Greek tennis star, arrived Monday night.
Hopefully his presence will change the perception about the sport that once enjoyed tremendous popularity in the country.
Sad to say, most of young – and tall – Filipinos prefer to play basketball or volleyball rather than to play tennis.
Perhaps, there’s little reward or money in the sport – not to mention little tournaments on offer.
Age group tournaments abound but not in men’s side – or the distaff side – which is the reason why majority of promising players seek greener pasture somewhere else.
But if young Filipinos follow the footsteps or take the formula this ruggedly handsome Greek has used, they will certainly enjoy so many perks.
He’s no rock star, but the 6-foot-3 with long, flowing hair looks like one – small wonder he’s now as popular as the sport’s Big 3 – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
And make no mistake about it, the 21-year-old Tsitsipas has beaten all of them at one time or another that saw his ranking rise to No. 6 in the world.
His booming serves, solid groundstrokes and exciting play will be in full display when the Greeks battle the Philippine Davis Cup in their World Group II playoffs tie on Friday and Saturday at the Philippine Columbian Association in Paco, Manila.
“I’m really committed to play for the country. I’ve been playing individually all my life and I really miss the team spirit and playing for the team and not just for myself. It kind of sort of give something extra out there, especially the memories that I get to share with my teammates,” he said.
The tie is a best-of-three but Nationals, of course, are given the slightest chance to beat the tall odds given the status of Tsitsipas and company.
Other members of the Greek team are Michail Pervolarakis, Markos Kalovelonis, Dimitris Chatzinikolaou, and Petros Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas is coming off a runner-up finish to Djokovic in the rich Dubai tournament.
Out to lead the PH team to a mission impossible are Ruben Gonzales, Jeson Patrombon, Francis Casey Alcantara, AJ Lim, Eric Olivarez Jr and team captain Chris Cuarto.
The first two singles matches will be played on Friday while the doubles and the reverse two singles on Saturday.