Greek hope Stefanos Tsitsipas faces uncertainty with his singles rubber as injury foils his United Cup leg

Tsitsipas also withdrew from the ATP Finals for the same back problem.

Greek hope Stefanos Tsitsipas faces uncertainty with his singles rubber as injury foils his United Cup leg

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Via: Imago)

World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas was supposed to take on Nicolas Jarry during the United Cup tie between Greece and Chile. However, the 25-year-old has unfortunately had to withdraw from the singles match and will now be replaced by youngster Stefanos Sakellaridis. Tsitispas is suffering from a back injury and told an interviewer that he had a 50-50 chance of playing in the match. 

There are a few chances I might not play, and there are a few chances I might, so I'm kind of 50-50 so far. We will wait and see.
Tsitsipas told Nine’s Mark Philippoussis during live broadcast. 

The Greek ace withdrew from the tournament to focus on the Australian Open. He obviously does not want to make his lingering back problem worse ahead of the Grand Slam and must save his intensity for later. He said back injury also plagued the Greek’s 2023 season. Most recently, he had to withdraw from the 2023 ATP Finals mid-tournament for his injury. 

Tsitsipas was one of the finalists at the 2023 Australian Open. He lost to Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-7, 6-7 and missed out on the opportunity to win his first ever Grand Slam. He does want to make the most of the 2024 Australian Open.

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However, the competition this year is immense. With the comeback of Rafael Nadal and the form players like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev are currently in, the Australian Open will be lit this year. 

Greece’s chance in the United Cup collapse with the withdrawal of Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Sakellaridis played well as the replacement for Stefanos Tsitsipas, but it was not good enough to stop Nicolas Jarry. The Chilean won the match 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, thanks to his experience, and pulled Chile back into the game to make it 1-1. Before this, Maria Sakkari had already won the first match against Daniela Seguel. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Source: CNN)

This is Greece’s first match in the 2024 United Cup. They have been placed in Sydney’s B Group alongside Canada and Chile.

The team is currently last in the group points table and will find it very difficult to qualify if they are unable to beat Chile in this tie, as this was supposed to be the easy one. With the absence of Stefanos Tsitsipas, it will be ever more difficult for the team to qualify, let alone push for the trophy. 

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