Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates Greek Independence Day ahead of first match at Miami Open 2023

Stefanos Tsitsipas welcomed a bit of patriotic spirit as he celebrated the 202nd anniversary of his home country Greece's freedom. Greek Independence Day is celebrated on March 25 each year, and on the latest occasion of the same, the country's top-ranked tennis star expressed his pride.

Tsitsipas is currently in Miami for the 2023 Miami Open as he aims to regain some lost momentum after a highly successful Australian Open at the start of the season.

The world No. 3 took to social media on Saturday to celebrate Greek Independence Day.

Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates Greek Independence Day (via Instagram).

Tsitsipas celebrates Greek Independence Day (via Instagram).

He also shared a short excerpt from Lord Byron's poem 'The Isles of Greece.'

Tsitsipas celebrates Greek Independence Day (via Instagram).

Tsitsipas, who received a first-round bye at the Miami Open as one of the top seeds, received a walkover from Richard Gasquet in the second round. He will thus play his first match in Miami this year on Monday, in which he will face Cristian Garin.

The 24-year-old has been recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained in January. The Miami Open is just his third tournament since reaching the Australian Open final. He lost to Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16 at the ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam, before bowing out in the opening round of Indian Wells after a loss to Jordan Thompson.

"I am heading towards the right direction" - Stefanos Tsitsipas shares positive update on shoulder injury

Stefanos Tsitsipas competes during Indian Wells 2023.

Ahead of the Miami Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas shared a positive update on his recovery from a nagging shoulder injury. The Greek star was relieved to feel better after putting in a lot of hard work to overcome a frustrating injury. Recent practice sessions have given Tsitsipas more confidence as he aims to regain lost form in Miami this week.

"I have put a lot of work to get better and I am feeling better. I am heading towards the right direction," Tsitsipas said in a press conference in Miami earlier this week.

"It's a relief to be feeling this way because I have been struggling a lot the last few days hitting so, you know, yesterday was a good practice and I had good feedback," he added.

Tsitsipas is seeded second in Miami in world No. 2 Novak Djokovic's absence. Fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 12th seed Frances Tiafoe are both in Tsitsipas' quarter of the draw, while world No. 4 Daniil Medvedev is in the same half of the draw.