Stefanos Tsitsipas delivered a resolute statement to his skeptics following his coach’s change of direction, asserting that he has no need to demonstrate his abilities.
This response came in anticipation of the European Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has responded to his critics after achieving a 3-5 record in tour matches following his victory at the Los Cabos Open.
The player ranked seventh in the world has been experiencing a decline in performance recently and has just reversed his decision by reappointing his father as his head coach, after earlier replacing him with Mark Philippoussis.
Tsitsipas refuted the notion that he lacked dedication to his tennis and asserted that he had no need to demonstrate his abilities.
Tsitsipas has had a season with varying results, beginning on a positive one as he reached his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
The Greek star was one match win away from his maiden Major triumph and the world No 1 ranking but succumbed to Novak Djokovic. He waited until August to earn his first title of the year, capturing the trophy at Los Cabos.
Since then, the 25-year-old has been unable to win back-to-back matches at any tournament, suffering early exits in Canada, Cincinnati, the US Open, Beijing and Shanghai.
He now joins the European Open as the top seed, having just rehired his father Apostolos to his coaching squad.
Ahead of his initial encounter in Antwerp, Tsitsipas sent a loud message to those who had been doubting him during his problems for form.
“People who think that I am no longer focused on tennis, I train harder than I ever did in my career,” the 10-time title winner remarked.
“I don’t want to prove anything to anyone, except to myself, to prove to myself that I am capable of recovering my level. I believe in it.”
Tsitsipas will be looking to string together several victories in the singles when he begins his campaign against either Dominic Stricker or Botic van de Zandschulp after obtaining a bye into the second round.
There has been a lot of buzz about Tsitsipas’ life off the court this season, since he started dating fellow tennis player Paula Badosa.
The two went public on Spotify when they established a combined playlist and altered their individual profile images to a snap of them together. They later formed a joint Instagram account @tsitsidosa.
It has led some to question whether Tsitsipas’ romance is getting in the way of his tennis or pulling his focus away from the sport. But the 25-year-old has now addressed such claims directly.
His coaching situation has also grabbed notice this year as Tsitsipas started working with Philippoussis at the start of the season before they split in May.
