In one of the smallest surveys possible, Stefanos Tsitsipas received the most votes from his colleagues when they were asked to name the player with 'the biggest ego' on the tour.
The ongoing 2023 ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, Netherlands, has sprung quite a few surprises, with only two seeded players reaching the quarterfinals — Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime. No. 1 seed Tsitspas was ousted from the ATP 500 tournament by Jannik Sinner in the second round.
Similarly, other seeds like Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Alexander Zverev lost in the first two rounds. Rune retired mid-match due to a wrist injury while trailing 6-4, 4-0 against Gijs Brouwer.
Apart from Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime, the other quarterfinalists are Sinner, Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Gijs Brouwer, and Tallon Griekspoor.
In a light-hearted video, shot before the event, players were asked to pick a name among the tour members with the biggest ego. Although everyone was hesitant and gave it a long thought, they finally did away with it. Auger-Aliassime and Dimitrov went with Tsitsipas.
"We're all pretty confident, have good egos. I don't know, maybe Stefanos [Tsitsipas]," Auger-Aliassime said.
"I'm going to throw everyone under the bus now. Andrey Rublev definitely not. Felix [Auger-Aliassime], I haven't seen that. Stefanos, yeah has some tendencies," Dimitrov said.
Zverev joked that all the players were qualified but finally picked the Canadian player.
"All of us. Mayble Felix [Auger-Aliassime]," Zverev remarked.
Wawrinka picked Dimitrov but chose not to give his reasons.
"Grigor [Dimitrov]. I don't know why. No comments," Wawrinka said.
Poland's Hurkacz was the only one who just couldn't answer the question.
"Next question, please," he said.
"Now I feel really happy on the court" - Stefanos Tsitsipas ahead of ABN AMRO Open 2023
Stefanos Tsitsipas' first ATP main draw clash came at the 2017 ABN AMRO Open against eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Ahead of the ongoing tournament, the Greek was shocked to learn that it was going to be his seventh appearance.
"Seventh time already? Well, that's more than I thought," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "It certainly feels like yesterday when I walk through the halls and on Centre Court. I feel like was here just last week. This is where it all started for me as a tennis pro."
"It has been a long journey, with a lot of hard work every year, and sometimes a great deal of stress. But now I feel really happy on the court, no matter who I'm playing against," he added.
While the World No. 3 defeated Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round of the 2023 ABN AMRO Open, he was eliminated by Jannik Sinner in the second.