PARIS – Once again, tennis punishes Stefanos Tsitsipas with the precision of a Greek tragedy.
Like the heroes of Aeschylus or Sophocles, Tsitsipas does not shy away from suffering. He promises to embrace it if necessary, to go through whatever it takes in order to find his best version again.
“I’m ready to bleed and give everything I have to get back to where I was,” he told Greek outlet SDNA.
The 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6 loss against Italian Matteo Gigante was a brutal blow for the 2021 Roland Garros finalist. The former world No. 3 was defending quarterfinal points in Bois de Boulogne, and this second-round exit will likely push him out of the top 25.
“I had two or three very good years on tour, playing excellent tennis and fighting with everything I had at the time. To get back on that winning path would be an incredible feeling—but words don’t count. I have to show it with the passion and will I bring on court. I hope that comes through, and I want to show that I’m still capable,” he admitted.
That number 25—soon to appear next to his name when the ATP rankings update after Roland Garros—does it feel fair? Greek journalist Vicky Georgatou asked him in his native language.
Sitting in the press room beneath Philippe Chatrier, Tsitsipas didn’t try to blame anyone or anything: “I deserve to be where I am. My results have shown that. There’s nothing unfair about it. The fairest thing on the tour is the ranking system. The ranking doesn’t lie.”
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Had this loss come in New York or on grass, it might not have cut as deep. But Tsitsipas hurts more in Paris. Roland Garros is where he usually racks up key wins that rebuild his confidence; on clay, his favourite surface, he tends to show his best.
In a year where he also failed in Australia—losing in the opening round of the another Grand Slam where he typically performs well—Tsitsipas feels he’s sinking deeper, with little to show for the changes he’s tried.
He removed his father from the coaching role last August. He also experimented with a new racquet: using a black-painted Babolat to avoid breaching his Wilson contract, Stefanos Tsitsipas finally won an ATP 500 in Dubai. That win in the Middle East, though, proved to be an exception. For the latter part of the clay swing, he returned to play with his usual weapon.
Now, another change is on the horizon. The arrival of Goran Ivanisevic to his team for the grass season is the next card on the table—a move that aims to bring new energy, with Wimbledon in sight.
