Tsitsipas needs to do something

Stefanos Tsitsipas faces the media after his early exit from the 2025 Australian Open. The world number 11, defeated in four sets by Alex Michelsen in the first round, analyzed his performance and reflected on the changes in his tennis compared to the past years.
“It was a difficult match in the first round. I knew I was facing a serious opponent, I had already met him and lost to him before,” explained the Greek. “I had a very slow start. I couldn’t find my movements and dominate after the serve as I hoped. This caused me frustration and insecurity in my game. Today I didn’t have enough power in my shots.”
Comparing his current tennis with that of 2020, Tsitsipas admitted: “Back then I was more mentally fresh, I seemed to be hungrier than today. One of the things that characterized me was the desire to make tennis my life. Now it’s different, I have stabilized well in the last two years. Even though I lost today and I’m not at my best, I think I’m a much better player than I was then.”
On regaining his confidence, the Greek seems uncertain: “I have no idea. I haven’t talked about it with my team yet. The most frustrating thing about losing in the first round of a Slam is that you have too much time to recover. My next stop will be the Davis Cup, I hope things go better there.”
Ironically, Tsitsipas had withdrawn from the doubles tournament to conserve energy: “My goal was to go far in singles. I guess karma hit me.” The tennis player also commented on the evolution of tennis: “When I arrived in 2018, the game was very different from today. It wasn’t as physical. I had victories over Novak without having to reach the most extreme version of myself. Now the game has become more physical, the margins have shrunk. You don’t get as many free points. Power has taken over, now everyone can hit hard. You just have to be precise, combine those two things, and that’s the ultimate player.”
 
Winner Sinner said:
Stefanos Tsitsipas faces the media after his early exit from the 2025 Australian Open. The world number 11, defeated in four sets by Alex Michelsen in the first round, analyzed his performance and reflected on the changes in his tennis compared to the past years.
“It was a difficult match in the first round. I knew I was facing a serious opponent, I had already met him and lost to him before,” explained the Greek. “I had a very slow start. I couldn’t find my movements and dominate after the serve as I hoped. This caused me frustration and insecurity in my game. Today I didn’t have enough power in my shots.”
Comparing his current tennis with that of 2020, Tsitsipas admitted: “Back then I was more mentally fresh, I seemed to be hungrier than today. One of the things that characterized me was the desire to make tennis my life. Now it’s different, I have stabilized well in the last two years. Even though I lost today and I’m not at my best, I think I’m a much better player than I was then.”
On regaining his confidence, the Greek seems uncertain: “I have no idea. I haven’t talked about it with my team yet. The most frustrating thing about losing in the first round of a Slam is that you have too much time to recover. My next stop will be the Davis Cup, I hope things go better there.”
Ironically, Tsitsipas had withdrawn from the doubles tournament to conserve energy: “My goal was to go far in singles. I guess karma hit me.” The tennis player also commented on the evolution of tennis: “When I arrived in 2018, the game was very different from today. It wasn’t as physical. I had victories over Novak without having to reach the most extreme version of myself. Now the game has become more physical, the margins have shrunk. You don’t get as many free points. Power has taken over, now everyone can hit hard. You just have to be precise, combine those two things, and that’s the ultimate player.”
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Physical maybe. But courts are a lot faster than they were some 5-6 years ago.
And "I have stabilized well in the last two years". Except clay swing and one AO final, his results are meh at best for a former world no.3
 
I don't see Tisitsi as a break out talent, but more a floating to 25 type player. I think it is more about mental and tactical play, but his strokes are on par and below what you see top guys having as weapons.
 
kangaroo1973 said:
If Tsitsipas wants to enjoy deep runs at slams in the future, he ought to do something about it.
First fix that awful return of his, second fix backhand, third hire a good coach- Norman, Edberg, Annacone, Gilbert come to mind.
His last GS results are really bad.
4R
QF
2R
1R
1R - at his most successful slam. That is very concerning.
And one last thing, all credit to Michelsen, that return game in the 9th game of the second set? That was something. Maybe kid has a very bright future inside top 10 after all.
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Tsitsipas career is finished, which i said 2 years ago. Game has moved on and you cannot be a top player with such a glaring weakness like his BH. He should retire and do meditation sessions or run a tree hugging type group, he has a lot to offer in those sort of vocations.
 
Winner Sinner said:
Stefanos Tsitsipas faces the media after his early exit from the 2025 Australian Open. The world number 11, defeated in four sets by Alex Michelsen in the first round, analyzed his performance and reflected on the changes in his tennis compared to the past years.
“It was a difficult match in the first round. I knew I was facing a serious opponent, I had already met him and lost to him before,” explained the Greek. “I had a very slow start. I couldn’t find my movements and dominate after the serve as I hoped. This caused me frustration and insecurity in my game. Today I didn’t have enough power in my shots.”
Comparing his current tennis with that of 2020, Tsitsipas admitted: “Back then I was more mentally fresh, I seemed to be hungrier than today. One of the things that characterized me was the desire to make tennis my life. Now it’s different, I have stabilized well in the last two years. Even though I lost today and I’m not at my best, I think I’m a much better player than I was then.”
On regaining his confidence, the Greek seems uncertain: “I have no idea. I haven’t talked about it with my team yet. The most frustrating thing about losing in the first round of a Slam is that you have too much time to recover. My next stop will be the Davis Cup, I hope things go better there.”
Ironically, Tsitsipas had withdrawn from the doubles tournament to conserve energy: “My goal was to go far in singles. I guess karma hit me.” The tennis player also commented on the evolution of tennis: “When I arrived in 2018, the game was very different from today. It wasn’t as physical. I had victories over Novak without having to reach the most extreme version of myself. Now the game has become more physical, the margins have shrunk. You don’t get as many free points. Power has taken over, now everyone can hit hard. You just have to be precise, combine those two things, and that’s the ultimate player.”
Click to expand...
"...much better player now..." wonder if he's saying that to deflect the burden of actually having to work hard and improve things in his game. He doesn't need a new coach, he's a much better player - everyone else is just better now. It's a real shame because when he first burst onto the scene I really like him, he was a guy that unlike others from his generation tried to get on the front foot early, get to net and take the fight to his opponents in an agresssive way. But his slow decline has become a tailspin now and he doesn't seem to have the drive to improve things. I expect once he gets closer to 30 he'll look back with regrets and really try to put in the work but it will probably be too late by then.
 
I watched some of his match last night but I ended turning the channel when he got broken again in the 4th set after breaking back, and it was pretty much over. He is in shambles right now and it's sad to see this happen to someone with his talent. I don't know when he is going to wake up and put mommy and daddy aside, and hire a coach who can get him back on track and back as one of the top 5 players in the world. Yea Michelson played well but he played like crap and that backhand is worse than it's ever been. Even the forehand was erratic with low shot tolerance.
 
Winner Sinner said:
The tennis player also commented on the evolution of tennis: “When I arrived in 2018, the game was very different from today. It wasn’t as physical. I had victories over Novak without having to reach the most extreme version of myself. Now the game has become more physical, the margins have shrunk. You don’t get as many free points. Power has taken over, now everyone can hit hard. You just have to be precise, combine those two things, and that’s the ultimate player.”
Click to expand...
The ultimate physical match was the 2012 AO grindathon between Djokovic and Nadal. But maybe that doesn't count for him because it was a Presocratic encounter.
 
BlackSilver said:
I can't believe the hype about Shapovalov continues to exists.
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Shapovalov will be 26 in three months. He's less than a year younger than Tsitsipas. It's obviously long past the time for assessments of Shapo in terms of raw potential. In just another couple of years, the career postmortems may begin!
 
ChaelAZ said:
I don't see Tisitsi as a break out talent, but more a floating to 25 type player. I think it is more about mental and tactical play, but his strokes are on par and below what you see top guys having as weapons.
Click to expand...
His mental game is average as well. Seems to lose his mind in big moments.
 
ChaelAZ said:
I don't see Tisitsi as a break out talent, but more a floating to 25 type player. I think it is more about mental and tactical play, but his strokes are on par and below what you see top guys having as weapons.
Click to expand...
Now everyone can exploit his huge weaknesses in his game.
:X3:
tennis_pro said:
retire
Click to expand...
Not, when there's a lot of money at stake and a pretty luxurious life within his reach if he continues to play the sport.
:cool:
 
DSH said:
Now everyone can exploit his huge weaknesses in his game.
Click to expand...

Didn't say he is weak in any way, but the question is what he could do to move up to the next level, and I don't think he's that caliber of play overall. Winning a title or two each year and beating up on other ranked players to make deeper runs will keep him happily making millions each year, so it is more about him being content there and having a decent career than consistent chances at a GS or such.
 
JMR said:
The ultimate physical match was the 2012 AO grindathon between Djokovic and Nadal. But maybe that doesn't count for him because it was a Presocratic encounter.
Click to expand...
Also the guy must have missed the Djokodal SF at Wimb that same year.
 
I don’t doubt that he feels the game has become more physical, but I suspect it’s not for the reasons he thinks. My theory is that the decline in his service game (serve + 1) makes his own game more tiring imo. He also has to dig into return games more to make up for it. The overall result is that tennis feels more physical to him.

Numbers might prove me an idiot though, idk.
 
SpinToWin said:
I don’t doubt that he feels the game has become more physical, but I suspect it’s not for the reasons he thinks. My theory is that the decline in his service game (serve + 1) makes his own game more tiring imo. He also has to dig into return games more to make up for it. The overall result is that tennis feels more physical to him.

Numbers might prove me an idiot though, idk.
Click to expand...
I think numbers will agree with you. His serve has declined. His forehand has declined. Backhand has gone off the rails. It was not this bad.
 
I feel like his priorities shifted too much off of tennis and that's why he is where he is today. He's become with where his game is at. I think the same thing happened to Novak once he took over as the slam leader. It’s not to say that he isn’t still trying to win slams, I just don’t think his desire is as it was before he became the leader and it shows. Compare how he looked in the Olympics going for the one thing missing from his resume, to how he looks in slams. He wasn't going to be content not winning gold so he put every ounce mentally and physically into winning the Olympics and it showed. With slams he seems to have more of a "If I win another great, if not no big deal cause I already have 24" mentality. I think Stef has had a similar mentality shift. If he wins great, if not he still has Paula and millions of dollars to keep him happy. Maybe he feels better and is a happier person because of it but it would help explain why he's never worked on the glaring weaknesses in his game. He's never developed a solid BH slice which is a necessity for any top player with a one hander. His return game is mediocre at best. He really needs to offer Federer whatever amount of money Roger asks for to disclose what Fed worked on to make his backhand as solid as it was in 2017 when he won the AO.....
 
big ted said:
he ditched his dad months ago & he got even worse o_O .. i think his downfall was badosa
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I think this is true, but from a perspective that Badosa has brought joy and balance to his life (probably) in a way that reduces his inspiration for grinding endlessly for the chance to with a grand slam against ATGs. I think he is coasting and thinking he can regain form while not devoting himself to the same standard he previously did.

It's all just fun speculation though.

[edit] Basically what Jonwj86 said.
 
Winner Sinner said:
Stefanos Tsitsipas faces the media after his early exit from the 2025 Australian Open. The world number 11, defeated in four sets by Alex Michelsen in the first round, analyzed his performance and reflected on the changes in his tennis compared to the past years.
“It was a difficult match in the first round. I knew I was facing a serious opponent, I had already met him and lost to him before,” explained the Greek. “I had a very slow start. I couldn’t find my movements and dominate after the serve as I hoped. This caused me frustration and insecurity in my game. Today I didn’t have enough power in my shots.”
Comparing his current tennis with that of 2020, Tsitsipas admitted: “Back then I was more mentally fresh, I seemed to be hungrier than today. One of the things that characterized me was the desire to make tennis my life. Now it’s different, I have stabilized well in the last two years. Even though I lost today and I’m not at my best, I think I’m a much better player than I was then.”
On regaining his confidence, the Greek seems uncertain: “I have no idea. I haven’t talked about it with my team yet. The most frustrating thing about losing in the first round of a Slam is that you have too much time to recover. My next stop will be the Davis Cup, I hope things go better there.”
Ironically, Tsitsipas had withdrawn from the doubles tournament to conserve energy: “My goal was to go far in singles. I guess karma hit me.” The tennis player also commented on the evolution of tennis: “When I arrived in 2018, the game was very different from today. It wasn’t as physical. I had victories over Novak without having to reach the most extreme version of myself. Now the game has become more physical, the margins have shrunk. You don’t get as many free points. Power has taken over, now everyone can hit hard. You just have to be precise, combine those two things, and that’s the ultimate player.”
Click to expand...
Poor guy needs mental help as he is making no sense here, IMO. Rehire Daddy?
 
thrust said:
Poor guy needs mental help as he is making no sense here, IMO. Rehire Daddy?
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Nah he needs a real coach. Someone who understands the current game. Someone who has played on tour and can help him navigate the grind. Someone who has coached the best player in the history of tennis. Someone named Andy Murray ;)
 
Jonwj86 said:
Nah he needs a real coach. Someone who understands the current game. Someone who has played on tour and can help him navigate the grind. Someone who has coached the best player in the history of tennis. Someone named Andy Murray ;)
Click to expand...
In reality I was kidding about his father. Murray though, would be a good choice for Stefanos, rather than with Novak
 
kangaroo1973 said:
Well Toni Nadal has never been a good coach to begin with. He just got his hands on a freak of nature, someone exceptional. Auger has regressed under his guidance
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Toni did help Rafa in a lot of ways, especially for Rafa to keep his head in the present and to never to get delusions of grandeur or underestimate opponents. Toni does deserve a lot of credit for this. It made Rafa, even as a teenager, be very wise for a young man. Rafa clearly knew as a kid that Toni was good for him as tennis coach, even when he resented much about Toni's attitude (like making Rafa work without water when Rafa forgot his bottles) and when Rafa's own parents were concerned.

There's no question, however, that by 2015 at the latest, that Rafa needed a fresh eye as coach, and Toni's instinct was to double down on what had worked before.
 
Here's what will happen, again...He's broken with his father but he's hired a bum as a coach, a glorified hitting partner from Greece's Davis Cup. Then he'll bring his father back saying the experiment failed.
NoleFam said:
I watched some of his match last night but I ended turning the channel when he got broken again in the 4th set after breaking back, and it was pretty much over. He is in shambles right now and it's sad to see this happen to someone with his talent. I don't know when he is going to wake up and put mommy and daddy aside, and hire a coach who can get him back on track and back as one of the top 5 players in the world. Yea Michelson played well but he played like crap and that backhand is worse than it's ever been. Even the forehand was erratic with low shot tolerance.
Click to expand...
 
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