There is no doubt that Stefanos Tsitsipas’ father Apostolos Tsitsipas has had a great influence on his son’s career. A lot of credit should go to Apostolos for the success that the Greek tennis pro has achieved.
Apostolos Tsitsipas, the father of Stefanos is a part of his coaching team. Tsitsipas senior has often irked tennis fans for his conduct during his son’s matches. Apostolos sits in the box alongside the other members of Stefanos’ coaching team and is often heard yelling tactics during the course of a match.
On the ATP tour, on-court coaching is prohibited but Apostolos doesn’t seem to be a person who abides by the rules. This has earned him widespread criticism from a large number of fans. Recently, Diego Schwartzman lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16 of the Cincinnati Masters. The Argentine wasn’t too pleased with the words being said by his opposition’s coaching team members that involved Apostolos.
Schwartzman was heard telling umpire Renault Lichtenstein: “Tell me one people who like his father.”
This wasn’t the only time an opposition player was irritated by Apostolos’ antics. At the 2022 Australian Open semi-final, Daniil Medvedev faced Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Russian tennis pro was frustrated with Apostolos for allegedly passing on instructions to his son from his seat in the Rod Laver Arena. Medvedev gave the umpire Jaume Campistol a mouthful during the match and wanted him to give a code violation as he felt that Apostolos was blatantly coaching his son. Medvedev said to the umpire: “Next time it should be a code violation. If you don’t do it, you are… How can I say it… a small cat.”
After losing the finals of the Cincinnati Masters against World No. 152 Borna Coric, Stefanos Tsitsipas will be seen in action at the US Open Grand Slam.
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas has two titles in 2022 at Monte-Carlo and Mallorca. In Grand Slams in 2022, Tsitsipas’ best result came in the Australian Open where he reached the semi-final. In the French Open, he was ousted in the fourth round while at Wimbledon, he couldn’t progress beyond the third round.
Last year at Flushing Meadows, Tsitsipas bowed out in the third round following a defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. This year, he will hope to go deeper into the competition.
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