The doubles match with girlfriend Paula Badosa is cancelled. But Stefanos Tsitsipas will compete with his brother in Paris – and that before his quarter-finals. A big mistake for Boris Becker.
“It’s all about love.” Stefanos Tsitsipas’ explanation for his unusual extra workload at the French Open also softens Boris Becker’s heart.
“I’m the first person to understand that love makes you do things that you wouldn’t do with common sense,” said the tennis icon with a smile on Eurosport. Then he turned directly to the Greek: “Stefanos, keep loving your girlfriend and your brother – but please after the tournament. Concentrate on the title. This is all far too exhausting.”
On Monday, to the dismay of fans, the Greek tennis star at least cancelled the afternoon mixed doubles match with his Spanish girlfriend Paula Badosa. However, the world number 9 entered the second round of the men’s doubles with his brother Petros and knocked out the defending champions Ivan Dodig (Croatia) and Austin Krajicek (USA) in two and a half hours with 4:6, 7:5, 6:3. And that was one day before his quarter-final match against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. “Nobody does that except Tsitsipas,” Becker said before the match, shaking his head. “He’s badly advised, sorry!”
Brother Petros should now have a secure Olympic ticket
Tsitsipas was asked during the tournament why he was even willing to put himself through a triple start. “It’s all to do with love,” the 25-year-old replied. “Having the opportunity to combine love and tennis is really extraordinary.” Especially in Paris, the city of love, where the tennis dream couple “Tsitsidosa” had their first date. He may have now helped his brother get his ticket to the Olympics.
Physically, the 2021 French Open finalist has made an excellent impression so far. And Tsitsipas would have had to train the day before his quarterfinal match against Alcaraz on Tuesday anyway. So it’s not that bad? Not for Becker.
“You have never won a Grand Slam before, you are in top form again, you win Monte Carlo, you are now in the quarter-finals against Alcaraz,” said the six-time Grand Slam tournament winner. He should concentrate on that, with starts in doubles Tsitsipas would only lose “time and energy”. Former professional Philipp Kohlschreiber also said with a view to the difficult match against world number three Alcaraz: “You need every spark of energy. That’s why it doesn’t make sense.”
Love comeback with Paula Badosa
But Tsitsipas is an emotional person who is on cloud nine emotionally these days in Paris. The love comeback with Badosa shortly before the French Open also seems to have inspired him in terms of sport. After a break of a few weeks in the relationship, he felt “how intense the love” for the Spanish tennis player was, Tsitsipas said: “It was hard for us to be apart. I went through difficult times.”
Tsitsipas has had a weak hard court season by his standards, and shortly after his first round exit on clay in Madrid, he announced his separation from his “soul mate”, as he once called Badosa. At the time, he felt that combining work and private life was “a mountain” that seemed insurmountable for him. But Tsitsipas is apparently doing even worse without Badosa.
With the 26-year-old at his side, everything is now easier again. “We talk a lot about tennis,” said Tsitsipas: “I have the feeling that we are equally knowledgeable about what we do and have a lot of understanding of how to deal with certain situations.”
Source: Stern
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