Stefanos Tsitsipas told he has ‘gone backwards’ by top analyst
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been told he has ‘gone backwards’ this year by a top tennis analyst, who fears he may be facing a very tough start to the year.
Tsitsipas was easily beaten by Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals with the Italian cruising to a 6-4, 6-4 win to open the tournament.
While Sinner played well, it was Tsitsipas’ performance that dominated the discussion afterwards and former world number four Greg Rusedski was not impressed one bit.
Speaking on Amazon Prime after the match, Rusedski said: “You look at both players: Sinner has improved out of sight, Tsitsipas has gone backwards.
“The backhand isn’t very good. Sinner basically knows exactly what he needs to do to beat this man and it was very one-sided. And Sinner will be absolutely delighted to come through so easily today.”
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Worrying signs for Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas has certainly struggled of late, but it didn’t look like it was going to be that way at the start of the year.
The Greek star was in blistering form at the Australian Open and played such good tennis during the tournament that many thought he was going to take down Novak Djokovic in the final.
He wasn’t able to do that, but he continued his good year by regularly going deep in tournaments.
Since then, though, there have been worrying signs for him, and Rusedski believes he could be in for a shock next year unless he makes some changes.
“I think the first six months of the year he (Tsitsipas) was brilliant, down under in Australia he played some of the best tennis he’s played in his life. Mark Philippoussis comes back to the team, he wins in [Los] Cabos.
“And then all of a sudden, that relationship broke down, there wasn’t the communication that needed to be there and he isn’t the player he once was. The backhand slice has gotten worse, the block [return] has gotten worse, the second serve, he doesn’t have the placement.
“I’m sorry, he’s not the player he was at the beginning of the season. And if he doesn’t make those improvements at the beginning of 2024, he won’t be in the top 10 to start the year – he’s gonna go out early in Australia.”
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