US Open: Either Tsitsipas goes to 'magical place' or there is communication - Zverev

By Sports Desk August 31, 2021

Alexander Zverev has accused Stefanos Tsitsipas of behaving like a junior and disrespecting his opponents by taking such long bathroom breaks during matches.

Andy Murray was furious when Tsitsipas was off court for around eight minutes ahead of the final set in their thrilling first-round match at the US Open on Monday.

Tsitsipas also required a medical timeout for a foot problem during a pulsating contest that the world number three won 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-3 6-4 at Flushing Meadows.

Murray said he had lost respect for the 23-year-old, who defended his lengthy spell off court and stated he had played by the rules.

The Brit was in no mood to back down on Tuesday, however, as he tweeted: "Fact of the day. It takes Stefanos Tsitsipas twice as long to go the bathroom as it takes Jeff Bezos to fly into space. Interesting."

Zverev appeared to accuse Tsitsipas of communicating with his father and coach, Apostolos, when he took a break during their semi-final showdown at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati this month.

Tsitsipas responded by denying having ever used his phone during such a situation, describing the accusation as "absolutely ridiculous."

However, world number four Zverev had Tsitsipas in his sights once again after beating Sam Querrey 6-4 7-5 6-2 in New York.

The German said: "It's happening every match. It's not normal. It happened to me in the French Open, to Novak at the finals [of the] French Open. I think Hamburg against [Filip] Krajinovic he was complaining, against me in Cincinnati was ridiculous, and now here again. I think players are catching up with that.

"He's the number three player in the world. I do not believe he needs to do that, because if you're top three in the world, you're one of the best in the sport.

"These kind of things happen at junior events, at Futures, at Challengers maybe, but not when you're top three in the world.

"You're allowed to do that but it's like an unwritten rule with players. I have been breaking rackets, I go insane sometimes and all that but one thing I'm very proud of, and I'll keep for the rest of my career, is I win and I lose by playing tennis on the tennis court."

Zverev reiterated his grievance with Tsitsipas having taken such a lengthy break during their meeting in Cincinnati.

"I didn't ask that question in Cincinnati, which I was very surprised at, because I was going to answer that very truthfully and honestly," he said.

"He's gone for 10-plus minutes. His dad is texting on the phone. He comes out and all of a sudden his tactic completely changed. It's just not me but everybody saw it. The whole game plan changes.

"I'm like, either it's a very magical place he goes to or there is communication there. But I also don't want to disrespect him. He is a great player, he is number three in the world for a reason. He's winning tournaments and playing incredible tennis this year for a reason, so it's not only that.

"But I do believe, and Andy said it as well, there is some level of respect that everybody needs to have between players.

"I feel like sometimes - or he might just go to the toilet. We don't know that, that's also possible. But it just happens too often, I would say."

Related items

  • World number one Swiatek sees off Xiyu in Madrid opener World number one Swiatek sees off Xiyu in Madrid opener

    World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.

    Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.

    "I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."

    Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.

    Data Debrief

    Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.

    She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.

  • Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open

    Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.

    Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday. 

    The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.

    Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.

    Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner. 

    Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."

    Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat

    Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.

    The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome. 

  • Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid

    Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.

    Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.

    Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.

    "I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.

    "I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."

    Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.

    Data Debrief

    This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.

    Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player. 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.