Stefanos Tsitsipas, after shock first round AO exit – ‘I had this hunger to make a life out of tennis in 2018….It’s different now’ | Tennis News

Stefanos Tsitsipas blew up on his own team midway through a shocking Round 1 loss at the Australian Open. The Greek was angry after going a break down in the fourth set after he he floated a forehand long. The 11th seed eventually lost 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen.
He was seen on the court gesturing angrily that there had been “this tiny a gap” when missing the line. He kept repeating that to his coaching box, threatened to smash the racquet pointing to it, and then seemed to be muttering he wanted a fresh towel.
“Michelsen is very happy to let his opponent deal with the pressure of the moment and not give them anything,” the commentators said. “That’s not the most positive staff meeting that team has had. They’re unquestionably there to absorb this frustration…something to do with the racquet, but more for he lost his serve,” the comms added.
Later in the press conference, Tsitsipas explained how tough a time he was going through, including guilt tripping himself unnecessarily for pulling out of doubles where he was supposed to play with brother, Petros, so he could focus on a deep run in the singles. “I guess karma hit me. I was not able to deliver or play the way I was hoping to at this year’s event. The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher, hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament.”
He admitted it had been a difficult first-round match. “I knew I was dealing with a pretty serious opponent because I’ve played him before, and I have lost. So I knew coming into this match that things don’t suddenly change. He’s someone that there is [a] reason he beat me in our previous encounter. I knew I had to be on top of my game to try and win this match,” he said.
He added he’d had a slow start to the match. “In terms of finding my movements and just dominating from the serve plus one, it wasn’t really the way I’m expecting it to work. That led to some frustration and, let’s say, insecurity in terms of approaching my game. These are important shots in tennis, and if you are not able to deliver them at your highest intensity, that’s really difficult.”
He said the power-game had elevated to another level. “I also felt like I didn’t have enough power in my shot today, so I ended up playing a bit more and kind of having to work twice or three times more every single point to try to win it. I just hope I’m able to retrieve that back and use that as a strength that I have within my game.”
Tsitsipas was also battling serious motivation issues, as compared to his debut in 2018. “I had a fresher mind back then [when I started playing]. It seemed like I was hungrier in a completely different way than I am now,” he revealed. “I would definitely say that one thing that stood out the most back then is that I had this hunger to try and make a life out of tennis and to try to have a good beginning in my tennis career and my tennis journey. It’s different than it is now.”
The physicality being up a notch, put pressure on the World No 12. “When I came around in 2018, the game was very different to what it is now. It wasn’t as physical. I’ve had wins over Novak, and I felt like I played well, and I didn’t have to kind of exceed the most extreme version of myself in that particular match,” he said. “I remember it quite fondly and intensely. The game has shifted more towards a physical game. I feel like the margins become smaller, meaning that you’re not getting as many free points. I feel like innovation has stepped in and allowed players to serve even bigger than before. I definitely put emphasis on that.”

The toll it was taking on him was evident when Tsitsipas concluded, “When I played years ago, I felt like it was less powerful in general, the game. It was still physical, but it was not as big as it is now. I do feel like power has taken over, meaning that everyone can hit hard now. You just have to be precise as well, combine those two, and you have the ultimate player.”

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