Stefanos Tsitsipas is into the semifinals of the Australian Open and feeling confident. Following Tuesday’s match, he extended an invite to two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie to come along and watch one of his matches.
Tsitsipas had just defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets (6-3, 7-6, 6-4) in a mere 2 hours, 17 minutes to book a spot in his fourth semifinal at the Australian Open, when he used the opportunity to send the Australian actress a message.
In an on-court interview with Jim Courier, Tsitsipas said “Australia is such a great country. I like a lot of Aussie things. One of my favourite actresses comes from here, Margot Robbie. I wish I can…”
Courier interrupted: “Are you pitching right now? What’s happening? Are you making an offer? What are we seeing here?”
“It would be nice to see her over there one day,” Tsitsipas said, gesturing to the stands. And when asked if he was definitely extending an invite, Tsitsipas responded: “Absolutely.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas invited Margot Robbie to the Australian Open after winning his quarterfinal match 😂 pic.twitter.com/7lAWYLCaKh
— ESPN (@espn) January 24, 2023
Tsitsipas, who is Greek, has long called the Australian Open his “home Slam” and he will face Karen Khachanov in the final four. He added: “I grew up in a place that is very similar in terms of conditions and lifestyle and I find myself feeling home when I’m here because it’s not too tropical and not too humid. It very much feels like home.”
And while it’s unclear if Robbie, who starred in “Wolf of Wall Street,” “Amsterdam,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Babylon,” will take him up on his offer, Tsitsipas already has plans for his prize money if he’s successful in Melbourne.
“I would love one day, hopefully winning the Aussie Open and giving a big portion of the prize money to build a school in Victoria, the state of education. I’d like to do that.
“… I saw how difficult it is for lots of kids around the world to get proper education. Not all kids grow up privileged, so I’d like to give kids an opportunity here to give them a school and free education. That’s what Australia means to me.”