Tsitsipas - Time to sound the alarm?

King No1e

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
At the end of 2019, Stef was on cloud 9 riding high on his WTF win, with very strong showings at AO and several M1000s. He's never been a paragon of consistency, so a few bad losses here and there shouldn't have been cause for worry.

But now it's become a pattern for the 'Pas. One of the all-time great chokes against Coric, a pretty bad loss to Raonic, and now dumped out in round 1 to Jannik Sinner.

Is this just a rough patch for Tsitsipas, or is it a sign of something more serious?

Discuss.
 
Fedeonic

Fedeonic

Hall of Fame
Do you remember Sascha's 2019 clay season? That after winning the Masters in 2018 against Federer and Djokovic no less, had a massive dip on his level and even lucked out a title in Geneve before RG? That he started to regress on his 2nd serve? Now look Zebrev now, reached his first major SF and was 2 points away from winning the US Open.

So no, I wouldn't sound the alarm, at least not for now.
 
C

Crazy Finn

Hall of Fame
Nah.

So, he hasn't been super consistent, in general, and he's struggled a bit in the virus tourney era. Basically, he's lost 3 matches in the past month, when plenty of players are rusty. So, no.

Obviously, he'll have to be better and more consistent if he wants to be a steady contender, but I'm not going to put a ton of stock into player's forms during this stretch. If they play well, great. If they're variable and shabby, well, not a shock.

How he and other players fare in a non-virus season (hopefully in 2021) without a big stoppage and quarantining with basically no competitive tennis for months would be a far better indicator.
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Fedeonic said:
Do you remember Sascha's 2019 clay season?
Click to expand...
Nobody does.
giphy.gif
 
Meles

Meles

Bionic Poster
King No1e said:
At the end of 2019, Stef was on cloud 9 riding high on his WTF win, with very strong showings at AO and several M1000s. He's never been a paragon of consistency, so a few bad losses here and there shouldn't have been cause for worry.

But now it's become a pattern for the 'Pas. One of the all-time great chokes against Coric, a pretty bad loss to Raonic, and now dumped out in round 1 to Jannik Sinner.

Is this just a rough patch for Tsitsipas, or is it a sign of something more serious?

Discuss.
Click to expand...
It's worthy of concern but sinner also is not a great match up with him; Sinner is going to destroy pushers. He's got time to repair his clay game in hamburg.;)
 
bjsnider

bjsnider

Hall of Fame
I keep wondering how some of these guys spent their time in the bubble. Some used the time well, others possibly not.
 
PeoplesChamp

PeoplesChamp

Legend
In the short term(rest of 2020) he could be finished mentally after the Coric choke. He had plenty of time to prepare although Sinner is a bit of bad luck for first match admittingly. Guess we'll know for sure if he crashes out at RG. My guess is that it's going to take some time to get over it.
 
socallefty

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I would not be surprised if he still had a mental hangover from his brutal USO loss to Coric where he lost so many match points on his own serve in the 4th set and then tanked the 5th set TB with multiple DFs and shanks. Sinner is a tough draw for the first round as he is likely better than his ranking and is a young player on the rise destined for the top 10.

Tsitsipas has too good a game to not be in the top 10 consistently for the next few years. However, I am starting to doubt whether he has the mental toughness to be an ATG-level champion who can win 5+ Slams. His social media posts seem a bit weird to say the least and I wonder if being a top tennis player makes him happy or if he got pushed into this career by his tennis loving parents - mother was on the WTA and father is a coach.

If I had to bet, I think he will win at least 2-3 Slams after the Big 3 stop winning Slams, as his game translates well on all surfaces. To forecast more than that, he has to show more consistency in the Slams in the next 12 months.
 
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Rosstour

Rosstour

G.O.A.T.
Fedeonic said:
Do you remember Sascha's 2019 clay season? That after winning the Masters in 2018 against Federer and Djokovic no less, had a massive dip on his level and even lucked out a title in Geneve before RG? That he started to regress on his 2nd serve? Now look Zebrev now, reached his first major SF and was 2 points away from winning the US Open.

So no, I wouldn't sound the alarm, at least not for now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, was gonna say...same thing happened to Zverev. People figured him out and the steps got heavier as he got better.
 
r2473

r2473

G.O.A.T.
King No1e said:
At the end of 2019, Stef was on cloud 9 riding high on his WTF win, with very strong showings at AO and several M1000s. He's never been a paragon of consistency, so a few bad losses here and there shouldn't have been cause for worry.

But now it's become a pattern for the 'Pas. One of the all-time great chokes against Coric, a pretty bad loss to Raonic, and now dumped out in round 1 to Jannik Sinner.

Is this just a rough patch for Tsitsipas, or is it a sign of something more serious?

Discuss.
Click to expand...
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TearTheRoofOff

TearTheRoofOff

G.O.A.T.
Fedeonic said:
Do you remember Sascha's 2019 clay season? That after winning the Masters in 2018 against Federer and Djokovic no less, had a massive dip on his level and even lucked out a title in Geneve before RG? That he started to regress on his 2nd serve? Now look Zebrev now, reached his first major SF and was 2 points away from winning the US Open.

So no, I wouldn't sound the alarm, at least not for now.
Click to expand...
Look at Zverev now, reaching the Us Open final and hitting WTA second serves. Oh wait.
 
guitarra

guitarra

Professional
I think it's the mental hiccup after the Coric devastating loss. But Stef was there before. I'm sure he'll bounce back soon enough - by the AO 2021 he should be fine again.
And BTW - I don't believe in the ATP Finals curse.
 
Krish0608

Krish0608

G.O.A.T.
The loss to Coric has potentially broken him. I mean, at this stage of your career, that is a BAD loss. You cannot choke away a 5-1 lead and lose 3MPs on your serve and end up losing the match. It's devastating for your confidence. He is done being a force, at least till the end of the year.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
King No1e said:
At the end of 2019, Stef was on cloud 9 riding high on his WTF win, with very strong showings at AO and several M1000s. He's never been a paragon of consistency, so a few bad losses here and there shouldn't have been cause for worry.

But now it's become a pattern for the 'Pas. One of the all-time great chokes against Coric, a pretty bad loss to Raonic, and now dumped out in round 1 to Jannik Sinner.

Is this just a rough patch for Tsitsipas, or is it a sign of something more serious?

Discuss.
Click to expand...
I agree.

I think the problem for Tsitsipas is similar to Dimitrov, his game looks really good when it's clicking, but there's nothing standalone in his game that's world class and when he's bad he has nothing that wins him matches.
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Red Rick said:
I agree.

I think the problem for Tsitsipas is similar to Dimitrov, his game looks really good when it's clicking, but there's nothing standalone in his game that's world class and when he's bad he has nothing that wins him matches.
Click to expand...

that's a bit harsh, given how much time Dimitrov spent around top 10 in the ranking
 
Born_to_slice

Born_to_slice

Legend
You could see the lack of confidence in the match against Sinner. Just not hitting freely through the ball. Very hard to play like that with a 1hbh.
 
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
Crazy Finn said:
Nah.

So, he hasn't been super consistent, in general, and he's struggled a bit in the virus tourney era. Basically, he's lost 3 matches in the past month, when plenty of players are rusty. So, no.

Obviously, he'll have to be better and more consistent if he wants to be a steady contender, but I'm not going to put a ton of stock into player's forms during this stretch. If they play well, great. If they're variable and shabby, well, not a shock.

How he and other players fare in a non-virus season (hopefully in 2021) without a big stoppage and quarantining with basically no competitive tennis for months would be a far better indicator.
Click to expand...
A bit convenient to blame his choke against Coric on rustiness.
 
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
PeoplesChamp said:
In the short term(rest of 2020) he could be finished mentally after the Coric choke. He had plenty of time to prepare although Sinner is a bit of bad luck for first match admittingly. Guess we'll know for sure if he crashes out at RG. My guess is that it's going to take some time to get over it.
Click to expand...
Tsitsi could have genuinely won the whole thing if he hadn't choked against Coric. He probably realised this after Djokovic got DQed and after watching the final.
 
B

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
Red Rick said:
Yes, but it's a big, and perhaps defining difference between fringe top 10 players with the occasional hot run and Slam and top 3 material.
Click to expand...

well, absolutely.
and still, imagine being in top 20 worldwide in a certain profession, isn't that insane?

and then someone says "but there's nothing standalone in his skills that's world class" :)
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
blablavla said:
well, absolutely.
and still, imagine being in top 20 worldwide in a certain profession, isn't that insane?

and then someone says "but there's nothing standalone in his skills that's world class" :)
Click to expand...
Well if we have to compare every dude in the top 20 with club players it's utterly pointless and boring.

"ZOMG Karlovic topspin backhand is amazing"
 
M

mental midget

Hall of Fame
socallefty said:
I would not be surprised if he still had a mental hangover from his brutal USO loss to Coric where he lost so many match points on his own serve in the 4th set and then tanked the 5th set TB with multiple DFs and shanks. Sinner is a tough draw for the first round as he is likely better than his ranking and is a young player on the rise destined for the top 10.

Tsitsipas has too good a game to not be in the top 10 consistently for the next few years. However, I am starting to doubt whether he has the mental toughness to be an ATG-level champion who can win 5+ Slams. His social media posts seem a bit weird to say the least and I wonder if being a top tennis player makes him happy or if he got pushed into this career by his tennis loving parents - mother was on the WTA and father is a coach.

If I had to bet, I think he will win at least 2-3 Slams after the Big 3 stop winning Slams, as his game translates well on all surfaces. To forecast more than that, he has to show more consistency in the Slams in the next 12 months.
Click to expand...

agree w this prediction-wise, he's got a great all-around game and should be hovering around the top for the next few years. as for his mental toughness it's kind of hard to make a call--it seems like he enjoys playing for the most part and definitely has an aggressive mindset out there. i think the big three have warped our expectations a little with regards to good players winning everything, all the time. i remember the beckers, edbergs, samprases even taking their fair share of losses throughout the year, used to be a little more spread out.
 
Fedeonic

Fedeonic

Hall of Fame
TearTheRoofOff said:
Look at Zverev now, reaching the Us Open final and hitting WTA second serves. Oh wait.
Click to expand...
Look at Zverev now, reaching the US Open final with very low quality play and hitting WTA second serves, and was just 2 points away from the title and shut down all his critics.
 
TearTheRoofOff

TearTheRoofOff

G.O.A.T.
Fedeonic said:
Look at Zverev now, reaching the US Open final with very low quality play and hitting WTA second serves, and was just 2 points away from the title and shut down all his critics.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the laugh ;) If 'reaching the US Open final with very low quality play and hitting WTA second serves' says anything, it's not about Zverev.
 
Fedeonic

Fedeonic

Hall of Fame
TearTheRoofOff said:
Thanks for the laugh ;) If 'reaching the US Open final with very low quality play and hitting WTA second serves' says anything, it's not about Zverev.
Click to expand...
That's more the problem of the field, no Sascha's.
Also Murray won 3 Grand Slams with a WTA second serve, but let's not talk about that.;)
 
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