With a masterpiece against Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals, Stefanos Tsitsipas proved his surgeon incorrect and reached the final four.
Tsitsipas had surgery on his right elbow at the end of November, which threw a cloud over his participation in the season-opening Grand Slam.
At one point, his surgeon said it was unlikely that he would play in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. But the Greek returned to action at the ATP Cup and is now in the quarterfinals.
On Wednesday, when he defeated Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena, he showed no signs of discomfort in his elbow.
The Australian Open was not part of his long-term strategy, he said in an on-court interview.
“I’m pretty sure my doctor is watching right now,” he stated. “He has been sending me texts after every single game. We both didn’t expect for me to participate in the Australian Open. It was not part of our plan, he told me ‘I don’t see you playing in Australia’, but I proved him wrong.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas. Photo/Netral.News
He attributed his win over Sinner to his humility during the match and his tactics as well.
“I think my humility helped a lot today,” he said. “I knew I was going on the court facing a very good player so I stayed intact. I tried to focus on my best shots and it paid off more than I thought.
“I’m very happy with the way I served today and the way I tried to come in and use my tactics.”
Tsitsipas dominated against Sinner, breaking early in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals with ease.
Although he was unsure he would play at the Australian Open, he showed great signs of recovery during ATP Finals in Turin, Italy last year.
Tsitsipas walked off Paris Masters in early November after a second-round match against Australian Alexei Popyrin.
He would later say that he decided to retire so as not to aggravate the situation and lock him out of ATP Finals.
“In Paris, the pain was unbearable, so I had to quit from that game,” Reuters quoted Tsitsipas.
He described his absence in the Paris Masters as “painful” adding that he had to walk away. “It was for my safety, for my well-being, and I don’t regret doing that.”
Since then, the Greek would practice lightly and reported minimal pain but said it was wearing off slowly.
He said that the pain was unbearable when he first started practising but it wore off days later.
Stefanos Tsitsipas. Photo/ATP Tour
The world No.3 had it tough in the 2021 U.S Open despite his winning streak. The Greek tennis player’s long bathroom breaks raised more questions than answers.
In his first-round opening match edging former world number one British player Andy Murray, he came under fire.
Tsitsipas took two long bathroom breaks and agitated Murray to the core because he feels that he cheated.
Murray stunned with his tactics in the first two sets which he beat Tsitsipas. His moves are reminiscent of his best matches on the court before the injury happened four years ago.
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