The audiences during the 2020 ATP Cup got shocked by the meltdown that Stefanos Tsitsipas displayed during his game against Nick Kyrgios, last week.
Right after Tsitsipas lost the first set to Kyrgios, the Greek player smashed his racket into the bench. However, he accidentally hit his father. This resulted in a bruise in his father’s forearm. His mother immediately ran from the stands and told Tsitsipas off.
The world no. 6 has already expressed how sorry he was for the incident. In the interviews done after, he said that all that happened was an accident. He urged everyone to move on as his family will deal with the issue on their own.
He, however, tried to have a sense of humour about it. When asked if he will receive punishment from his parents, he jokingly replied that he might be grounded at home.
The umpire, who also saw the incident, was unimpressed by the tantrum. Tsitsipas was given a code violation for the unsportsmanlike conduct.
Greek-Australian Kyrgios surprisingly was the one who stayed calm during the game. The world no. 29, infamous for his outbursts, managed to win the match 7-6 6-7 7-6.
Apostolos has been coaching Stefanos Tsitsipas ever since the start of his tennis career.
Apostolos, who confessed that he stumbled into tennis coaching because of his son, said that he never would have dreamed that he would be training a world top 10 player. A former football player, he and wife Ioulia taught Stefanos to play tennis as early as three years old. By age 12, the player-coach duo is already traveling to other countries for junior events.
Even now that he has helped his son win multiple WTA titles, he still feels lucky that Stefanos chose him as his coach. He even thinks that he learned a lot as his son’s trainer.
The Greek tennis player will be taking part in the Australian Open Rally for Relief exhibition match on Wednesday.
The event, set for January 15 at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, will gather some of the biggest names in professional tennis. Tsitsipas will join previously announced players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams.
The funds that will be raised from the event will be donated directly to the relief and recovery efforts. The players also encouraged people to further donate to the Australian Red Cross and the World Wildlife Fund.
Ranked world no.6, the Greek played his last match on the 7th of January when he had to bow to Nick Kyrgios 7-67 6-73 7-65 in the round robin in the ATP Cup.
Sourced via Tennis Tonic.
