‘What Australia means to me’: Tsitsipas will ‘build a school’ in Victoria if he wins Australian Open

Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas has done everything possible to endear himself to local fans during his charge to the Australian Open semis, but his offer to help fund the Victorian education system has topped the lot.

Expressing his love of Australian life and explaining that he’s continuing to learn the local lingo while in Melbourne, Tsitsipas is fast becoming the player most admired by tennis goers and it may be up to him to stop Novak Djokovic from winning a 10th Australian Open title on Sunday night.

In a revealing on-court interview after his quarter-final victory, Tsitsipas pledged to fund the building of a school in Victoria and support the education of children – a topic close to his heart – if he wins the Australian Open.

Winning his first major – if it happens at Melbourne Park this January – is much closer to reality after the world No.4, the highest seed left in the men’s singles, defeated Jiri Lehecka in the quarters on Tuesday night.

His financial pledge was not the only thing which captivated the fans, Tsitsipas also publicly invited Australian actress Margot Robbie to sit courtside with his entourage.

Having worked on his Australian slang, Tsitsipas appeared as fair dinkum as they come as he explained what educating kids meant to him.

“When it comes to charity ... I’d love one day, hopefully winning the Aussie Open and giving a portion of the prizemoney to build a school in Victoria, which is the state of education. I’d like to do that,” said third seed Tsitsipas, who will pocket $3 million if he wins the title.

In reply, his interviewer, Channel Nine’s Jim Courier said: “Wow, that’s amazing.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates winning through to the semi-finals.Credit: AP

Tsitsipas is into the Australian Open semis for a fourth time and has often revealed his love of Australian life and desire to invest in real estate down under.

“Let’s put tennis on the side because there are much more important things in life, I believe,” he said.

“I saw that Victoria is the state of education. There’s an idea for me over there, that came to my mind.

“I’ve seen how difficult it is for a lot of kids around the world to go to school and get a proper education, which is important because you know not all kids grow up privileged.

“I would really like to give an opportunity to kids here in this state to build a school and provide them with free education, and anything else.

“And to put it into words – that’s what Australia means to me.”

The offer was warmly welcomed by the Victorian government on Wednesday, which offered Tsitsipas a tour of the existing school network.

“We’re thrilled to see that Victoria is being celebrated on the world stage as the education state, and would be delighted to take Mr Tsitsipas on a tour of some of the world-class schools our $12.8 billion investment has delivered for every Victorian child,” said acting Minister for Education Ingrid Stitt.

The Australian Open singles champions will earn nearly $3 million this year, but the winning cheques have been as high as $4 million in recent years.

Pressed further by Courier about his admiration of Australia, Tsitsipas said: “I like a lot of Aussie things, you know. One of my favourite actresses comes from Australia, Margot Robbie.

“It would be nice to see her over there one day,” he said, referring to his player entourage area.

Courier wanted to ensure that Tsitsipas was extending an invitation to the actress, and the tennis star’s reply was clear: “Absolutely”.

Players have sometimes donated prizemoney to charitable causes after winning tournaments.

In 2020 as bushfires spread across south-eastern Australia, Germany’s Alexander Zverev pledged to donate money for each match he won in Melbourne.

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