06-05-2025
Greek man says he was attacked by tennis star Tsitsipas's family dog: ‘It felt like a bear bite'
A man in Greece on Tuesday said he needed stitches after allegedly being bitten by the family dog of tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 71-year-old claims he was attacked outside a cafeteria in the coastal Athens suburb of Vouliagmeni on Monday.
'It felt like a bear bite... It ripped through my trousers,' the man, whose name was not published, told news portal NewsIT.
'Blood was flowing and I fell to the sidewalk,' he said. Bystanders helped him up and one of them took him to hospital.
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The man said he had identified Tsitsipas's mother, Julia Salnikova, as the owner of the dog, which was on a leash.
'We know them, they've lived in Vouliagmeni for years,' he said.
'She took the dog away and swore at me,' he added.
A police statement said the man had filed a complaint against Russia-born Salnikova, who represented the Soviet Union as a tennis player in the 1980s.
Greece's top male tennis prospect and a former world number three, Tsitsipas, 26, is currently ranked 19th globally. He lives full-time in Monaco.
