Stefanos Tsitsipas: I am nothing compared to the player I was before

Stefanos Tsitsipas has given a very reflective post-match press conference after losing in the first round of the US Open for a second consecutive year.

Tsitsipas was beaten by Thanasi Kokkinakis, 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 7-5, to continue the Greek’s poor record at the New York major.

The US Open is by far Tsitsipas’ worst performing Grand Slam tournament, having won only 46% of his matches and failing to go past the third round in his seven main draw appearances.

It has been a very mixed season for the World No.11, who claimed his only title of the year at the Monte Carlo Masters back in April and has recently ended the coaching relationship with his father.

And Tsitsipas suggested after the match that he no longer feels like the player that reached two Grand Slam finals and was ranked as high as No.3.

“I’m nothing compared to the player I was before,” admitted the 26-year-old. “I remember myself playing when I was younger, playing with adrenaline on the court, feeling like my life depends on the match. And these things, I feel like they have faded off, and let’s say my level of consistency hasn’t been as big.”

Tsitsipas continued, “I remember my concentration used to be at its highest, at its peak, back then, and that’s something that I felt has dropped a little bit. I know it sounds strange, but I feel like I need the hunger to reproduce the hunger I had back then. And I’m not a person that feels alright or settles for normal stuff. Like, I really want to regenerate it and bring it back because it brought a lot of joy to my tennis when I was able to feel that way on the court.

“I really don’t know why it has dropped the last couple of months. I would even consider it like one to two years I’ve been feeling that way. I guess I was just able to hide it a bit better and put it to the side a bit more.”

In the defeat to Kokkinakis, Tsitsipas hit a total of 51 unforced errors and revealed in press that he was feeling some sort of ‘burnout’.

“I’m not an expert, I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I’ve had these discussions before with some of the people that I’ve spoken to and I do feel like there is some sort of like a long-term burnout,” explained Tsitsipas.

“I’ve already been feeling it since the beginning of the year. I feel like it’s a top of burnout that, regardless if you stop or not, it has happened already and it’s not going to repair or regenerate itself just purely because of vacation or staying away from the courts. I feel like it’s something that has actually kept going, regardless of whether I’m out of tennis or not.”

It is the first year since 2018 that Tsitsipas has failed to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, with his best result coming at Roland Garros earlier this year when he reached the quarter-finals.

Tsitsipas went onto speak about wanting to be able to compete at the biggest tournaments once again, “What I’m struggling with right now is getting into that rhythm of wins and consistent good runs in Masters 1000s and big tournaments, those moments I had two or three years ago.

“I remember feeling great, being able to reproduce that week after week. Right now I’m way too far from even doing that. I just need to find ways that can help me get back to the wins first.”

Tsitsipas will now have a few weeks off before heading to Tokyo for the ATP 500 event, beginning on 23rd September.

Inside the baseline…

Stefanos Tsitsipas losing in the first round of a Grand Slam should be a big surprise, but it really does not feel like it anymore, especially at the US Open where his record is so poor. Tsitsipas has gone from being one of the big contenders for major titles to really just a high-ranked seed that could face an early upset, which was always susceptible given his tricky first round draw against Thanasi Kokkinakis. The burnout is quite noticeable with Tsitsipas, and maybe a few weeks off away from the matchcourt will be advantageous for him.

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