"It's a nice fairytale in a way" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing with brother Petros at the United Cup

Stefanos Tsitsipas will spearhead the Greek side at the 2023 United Cup, the inaugural season of which gets underway Down Under with round-robin matches on December 29.

Top names from both the men's and women's games have already arrived in the Australian cities of Perth, Brisbane and Sydney for the team competition and were spotted completing their media duties on Wednesday.

Speaking on the opportunity to play alongside his brother Petros, Stefanos Tsitsipas said it almost felt like a "fairytale". The World No. 4 said both he and his brother have long dreamed of representing Greece together and that the newly minted United Cup has given them the opportunity to do just that.

"Having my brother be part of the team is something that we've been dreaming together for a long time," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "As boys, we always wanted to be representing our Davis Cup team and be joining forces, doing this together. It's a nice fairytale in a way."

Tsitsipas said he was proud of how far his brother has come in terms of results on the tour, before adding that he was also looking forward to partnering Petros for the Australian Open men's doubles event.

"Of course, we don't get to see each other very often because my brother gets to play some challenger events during the year," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "But I have a lot of faith in him, as time has shown, now we're able to qualify for our first Australian Open main draw doubles without requiring a wild card. That is a massive progression in recent time."

Stefanos also appreciated his brother's willingness to work harder in an effort to climb the higher echelons of the sport.

"He has shown his willingness to work harder, his willingness to sacrifice even more to get where he wants to be," he continued. "I'm really proud of him. His dedication is at its highest. Right now he's our best male doubles player, after me (smiling). He's heading towards the right direction. I think this season is going to be giving him a lot of chances, which I'm very happy for him."

"It's always a great opportunity" - Petros on playing with brother Stefanos Tsitsipas

Returning the compliment, Petros said he considered himself "lucky" to be playing alongside his brother as part of a team competition. The youngster added that he was looking forward to playing against some of the best players in the world and experiencing all the "emotions".

"It's always a great opportunity," Petros Tsitsipas said. "I consider myself very lucky to have this opportunity to play with him in the biggest events. I think that's what every player dreams of as a kid, to be on such a stage and perform and experience so many emotions, so many nice feelings. Yeah, I cannot ask for anything else. That was our dream since we were kids, like Stefanos said."