Stefanos Tsitsipas has failed to meet the expectations of fans and insiders this year, not achieving the results expected from a player with his talent. The Greek champion has not yet made that leap of quality he had imagined he could do since the beginning of his career. The 2019 ATP Finals champion won his third title in Monte Carlo this spring, but that’s too little for a player who can’t fully express his talent.
Stefanos played very badly in the US tournaments, being eliminated prematurely even at the US Open (a tournament where he never reached the second week during his career). After a few quarrels, Tsitsipas decided to break off the professional relationship with his father Apostolos generating multiple controversies.
Stefanos Tsitsipas© YouTube screenshot
The rise of young talents like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Ben Shelton seems to have further slowed down the Greek ace, who is very far from winning a Grand Slam title at this time.
The feeling is that the tennis player from Athens needs new stimuli at this point in his career, perhaps adopting some changes from a technical point of view. Stefanos suffers too much on the backhand side and he no longer has the same mental strength that he had in the early years of his career.
Tsitsipas is in trouble
Tsitsipas will be one of the protagonists of the Laver Cup, scheduled in Berlin next weekend. The Greek champion will try to achieve good results in this last part of the season, so as to gain confidence for 2025. “This event brought me closer to my heroes, their personalities and how they feel in real life. I was able to admire them in a different way, on a different scale than before. And I got to meet them, talk with them in a way that I don’t usually do when I’m on tour. It brought me so many emotions and wonderful memories” – Stefanos stated in an interview before the start of the event.
Stefanos Tsitsipas© YouTube screenshot
He also added: “Having Borg lead the team has been probably one of the most awesome experiences of my life. He’s literally a living legend. Having him on the bench, providing support and training from time to time was very comforting and refreshing. For that, I am grateful that he has been able to guide us in his way and provide wisdom and knowledge within the sport”.
Tsitsipas needs to find the right serenity both inside and outside the camp. He is having a love story with his colleague Paula Badosa, with whom he seems to have established a very deep bond. Recently, the 2021 French Open finalist opened up on his bad moment: “I can’t concentrate as much as I used to, and I feel like I need to have that hunger for glory that drove me to give my best. I’m trying to regenerate those feelings because I was happy playing tennis when I experienced them. I would say I’ve been in this cycle for one or two years, and I don’t know the reason.”
‘Stef’ has a serious problem: “I find it very difficult to reach that level of consistency that allowed me to win matches consistently in Masters 1000 tournaments. I am far from that level right now. I need to find a way to accumulate some victories, gain confidence, and approach my best version.”
A new beginning
The 2023 Australian Open finalist seems to have regressed from a few years ago and the opponents are no longer afraid of him. The Greek only plays his best tennis on red clay, while top players dominate him on both grass and hard court.
Stefanos Tsitsipas© YouTube screenshot
During an interview with L’Equipe, Greek’s former physio Jerome Bianchi spoke about the relationship between Stefanos and his father Apostolos: “Their relationship has not been sustainable for years, their way of operating is harmful. Every time Stefanos wanted to break up with his father, his mother ran and said, ‘You can’t do this to him, he dedicated his life to you’. And he found himself feeling guilty. He realises that he is getting on in age and that his career has not been what it should have been.”
He continued: “Apostolos is kind, but also exaggerated. He loves his son very much. However, their relationship for years was not stable and it only did harm. His dark moments come from there. His father was talking so much that he couldn’t hear anything but himself. Because of his father, several players no longer wanted to train with him in tournaments. They couldn’t concentrate on training because he was constantly talking. He wants to control everything and doesn’t even leave room to breathe.”