Yesterday a Perth crowd were lucky to behold a game of tennis in the Hopman Cup that represents the most eloquent match of the year so far as Switzerland took on Greece for a spot in the final. That might not be saying a lot considering we are only 4 days into the new year but actually there has been some outstanding games happening in Brisbane and Doha at the same time including Novak Djokovic barely surviving a hammering from the back court from upcoming Georgian hard hitter Basilashvili.

Actually I could name three or four other matches where the standard of tennis throughout has been so high any fan witnessing one of these games live would have got more than value for money off their ticket purchase. I have two friends who were in attendance for the Doha ATP yesterday (where the tickets are so much cheaper than events in the UK, Europe and the US). They were lucky enough to watch both Wawrinka and Djokovic live in action in two of the best matches I have seen this year and last. I

It's my dream that one day SCR will be valued high enough, I'll be able to travel the world and report on tennis live!

While Stan the Man was duelling with the immovable Roberto Bautista Agut and Djokovic was enduring yet another lung busting encounter with another power opponent, Perth fans were witness to something extra special. What stood out for me in the match in the Hopman Cup was the remarkable similarity between a 37 year old legend and a 20 year old up comer. It was almost like Roger Federer was playing his past self at the age of 20, a mere reflection in the mirror going against his far more experienced yet still exuberant self. Of course I am talking about Stefanos Tsitsipas who I have covered in many posts before, notably here, here, here and here when he made a bold bid for the Rogers Cup last year. I will be covering him again as part of my tennis article for @talesfrmthecrypt "Best of" series.

Gracefully Gliding on Court Like a Greek God in the Making

Tsitsipas moves lightly on his feet at times gliding to the forecourt and volleying home with a touch of guile, for a 20 year old he has an excellent touch at the net flying in the face of many young ATP players who neglect the forecourt in preference for pure baseline results. The Greek talent also possesses a strikingly similar one handed back hand hit with ease and calculation like the Swiss master himself. I would align him with Alexander Zverev as one of the two most promising youngsters in the game. He may not have won as many trophies as some of the other next gen players including Zverev, but he is 2 years younger than Zverev and is one of the youngest players on tour so time is on his side. He has an all court game that can allow him to go beyond some of the other more regular style of players such as Karen Khachanov, Kyle Edmund and Borna Coric to name a few.

During their match yesterday Tsitsipas looked very comfortable on serve against Federer with plenty of dashes to the net to volley home some excellent back court strikes. Indeed at times he looked the more clinical net player of the two and that is saying something when you come up against the Swiss Maestro himself. The young Hercules even managed to go 4-1 ahead in the tiebreak for Greece before disappointingly dropping 4 points in a row and allowing Federer to go on and snatch the tie break 7-5.

The second set was more of the same as both players looked like they were playing out a game of cat and mouse from the back to the forecourt, both exchanging turns to glide to the net and volley home high and low balls as if they were operating on an alternative slow motion time line to the rest of us. In fact rarely did either player miss a volley in the forecourt. Federer must have been looking over to the other end of the court experiencing a mixed dose of nostalgia and deja vu. It may have even reminded him of how time flies when your winning slam after slam.

Enjoy Highlights of Federer vs His Younger Self!

If volleying and backhand styles matching aren't enough for you to be convinced that Tsitsipas could be the heir to Roger's classical way of playing the game, then finally check out Tsitsipas' forehand, virtually the same technically as Federer's, same pace, same spin vs flatness, same take back style. Of course if you examined both players up close and in slow motion there will be some subtle differences but no two players are exactly the same. That doesn't negate from the fact that Tsitsipas can provide tennis fans with a new era of the same beloved tennis style we have come to love from Federer.

If Stefanos achieves a quarter of what Roger has done in his career he will be a very happy man. I am in no doubt he will entertain us in a similar manner to how Federer has done for two decades, but whether he can lift his level to achieve anywhere close to Roger's record of 20 Grand Slams, 1180 wins to 260 losses and 99 ATP titles, is another matter all together.

I'll leave you with a compilation of Tsitsipas' best shots from 2018, enjoy!

Official ATP 2018 Highlight Reel