"She’s like a ball of fire & I love that" - Giannis Antetokounmpo sings the praises of fellow Greek athletes Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari have flown the Greek flag over the past couple of seasons. Both players have had successful seasons and sit inside the top 10 in the world.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo recently spoke about the tennis stars, referring to his "good friend" Sakkari as a "ball of fire."

"She’s amazing. She’s like a ball of fire & I love that about her. She plays with a lot of intensity. She’s a good friend of mine & I wish her the best,” said Antetokounmpo.

The NBA star said that Tsitsipas is one of the best tennis players and has a "bright future."

"He’s a great guy and he’s just starting right now. He is at the top of the world right now, one of best tennis players out there but he's just getting better and has a bright future," he added.

"He is my idol" - Maria Sakkari on Giannis Antetokounmpo

Maria Sakkari fields questions from the media at the 2022 WTA Finals

During a press conference ahead of the WTA Finals, Maria Sakkari sang the praises of Giannis Antetokounmpo and called him her idol. She added that Antetokounmpo's work ethic was inspiring.

"I think there is so many things that you can get inspired and pick up from Giannis because for me, he is my idol," she said. "He is the person that I look up to the most. Him and Rafa I would say. These two people are the people, like, I want to try and look like."

"Giannis, he is an inspiration, not only because of his story and you know how it started. It's just that his focus and the way he does things during the match, in practice, off the court," she continued. "Like the way he spoke to me a few times, it just makes me admire him even more."

Sakkari went on to say that Antetokounmpo was "unique" and expressed gratitude for being able to pick his brain.

"He is just very unique. Like, I don't think there are many athletes like him around the world. I'm very grateful and thankful to have someone that I can speak to like him because he is going to dominate," she added.