“Stefanos plays great when he’s not flying to the moon and back during the breaks in the sentence.”
Gallows humor at Alexander Zverev (24)! In truth, like many other professionals, he is fed up. The problem: The seemingly endless toilet breaks of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (23).
The file is very long. Zverev lists: “It happens every game, it’s not normal. Against me and Novak Djokovic at the French Open, in Hamburg against Filip Krajinovic, then again against me in Cincinnati and now against Andy Murray in New York. “
Stefanos Tsitsipas is well on the way to spoiling a lot of sympathies on the tourPhoto: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
At the US Open it is actually THE topic. More and more players are falling apart. In addition to Zverev, Murray (34), who flew out against Tsitsipas in the 1st round on Monday. The young star needed five sets against the old master and offered the full program.
Murray: “I had discussed it with my team beforehand. We knew what to expect. ”Namely what happened to Zverev in the semifinals of the Masters in Cincinnati two weeks ago.
He left the place for twelve minutes. Zverev after the recent antics against Murray: “That pisses me off. Tsitsipas doesn’t need that. He’s # 3 for a reason. He doesn’t have to do that. It’s about respect among the players and towards our sport. Maybe he really just goes to the bathroom, but it just happens too often. “
Particularly perfidious, but not provable: Tsitsipas is very likely to be coached via mobile phone during the breaks. Zverev: “Everyone saw that his father was texting in Cincinnati and after the break Stefanos played a completely different tactic. Either he was in a magic room or … “
Andy Murray changed his shirt on the court, Stefanos Tsitsipas left the court for almost ten minutesPhoto: ELSA / AFP
Zverev also makes it clear why the topic is so big, even though Tstsipas does not officially break any rule. “He’s one of the best in the world. I don’t think he needs that. That can happen in the juniors or future tournaments, but not here. It’s an unwritten law among players not to do that, ”he says.
For himself that would be out of the question. The five-time Masters winner: “Yes, I destroyed rackets, I wasn’t always nice to the journalists, but there is one thing you can’t say about me: that I cheated. I win or lose with tennis. And that will always be the case. I’m proud of that. “
After the game at the farewell on the net, Andy Murray (r.) Paid no attention to Stefanos TsitsipasPhoto: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Murray brings up an entirely different component of the problem. “It affects you physically. If you play a brutal match like this, you cool off in seven or eight minutes. You can prepare yourself mentally as much as you want, ”explained the three-time Grand Slam champion.
The behavior of the Greek is particularly annoying because Murray kept up surprisingly well. “I’m not saying I won, but what happened after the break had an impact on the outcome of the game.”
Alexander Zverev incited the audience against Stefanis Tsitsipas in Cincinnati, won the match and later the tournamentPhoto: Darron Cummings / dpa
By the way, both of them get along well outside of the field. “I’m just saying that these things don’t belong on the pitch for a number 3 in the world. Otherwise I can’t say anything bad about Stefanos, ”said Zverev, who plays with Tsitsipas in Team Europe at the Laver Cup in Boston in September.
Murray sees it similarly, but Tsitsipas is through for him nonetheless. “He’s a brilliant player, but I’ve lost my respect for him,” said the former number one in the world. “Everyone knows that what he’s doing is nonsense, and he knows it too.”
What if Tsitsipas does that again in the next duel? Zverev already has an idea: “Then I’ll leave the court and only come back AFTER him.” Or the idea of ex-tennis star Tracy Austin (58) has already been put into practice: Allow those who are waiting, with his Speak to the coach as long as the opponent is in the dressing room.
Zverev: “I’d be for it, I think that’s good.”
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