Stefanos Tsitsipas regrets what he said about Andrey Rublev; labels him as the Marat Safin of the new generation
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Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas feels he owes an apology to the Russian opponent Andrey Rublev because of what he said about him following the loss in ATP Finals. As per Stefanos himself, he was merely trying to motivate his comrade to perform well in his next match, which would also give him a better chance of progression.
For context, earlier at the 2022 ATP Finals, he lost to Andrey Rublev and failed to get past the round-robin stage. Because of this, Tsitsipas failed to secure a place in the top 3 at the end of the season. Andrey Rublev lost to Casper Ruud in the semifinals. Naturally, following the disappointing gameplay, Tsitsipas blatantly commented that he felt he was the better and more creative player that day as compared to Rublev.
The comment instantly went viral on major social media platforms, eliciting a plethora of reactions online. As expected, it did not sit well with the majority of viewers out there and the statement made by Tsitsipas against Rublev was criticized on various social media platforms.
He responded to the criticism through a post on his official Instagram handle. “Dear haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at. Just be patient,” he wrote.
Two weeks later, the 24-year admitted that his statement was not appropriate and even explained how he saw it from a completely different approach.
“I saw it from a sort of different approach; I wanted him to be mad going into his next match (against Casper Rudd), trying to play even better,” he explained. He even claimed that this would have helped him keep the number 3 position in the rankings.
“I think that was wrong to do because it felt like, I don’t know, he wasn’t able to perform, I saw the match, and I don’t think he performed as good as I would have expected him to perform“, he further added.
As for the apology goes, he heaped praise on Andrey, majorly talking about his techniques, gameplans, and on-court strengths. In the last few seasons, Rublev and Tsitsipas have established a new on-court rivalry and their tour-level meeting is currently evenly split. He also compared Rublev with Marat Safin.
“I don’t think he’s limited in his game, I think he’s put himself over many years now on the tour that he’s capable of competing against the best. He’s one of the most disciplined guys out here, who is very professional towards his work. He’s a very funny guy, a very nice soul, I enjoy being around him. He’s extremely friendly and likes to make fun of himself“, Continuing his train of thoughts, Tsitsipas further added.
Stefanos Tsitsipas does not believe in the theory that he could be a part of the next Big Three
Despite being touted as the next Big Three, Stefanos Tsitsipas does not believe that he could be a part of the Big Three alongside Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. He even questioned whether his generation would be able to achieve as much as tennis icons: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
After the retirement of Roger Federer, the race to fill in those shoes started among the current generation of players. From current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to wonder kid Holger Rune, the new generation kids are all set to cement themselves as one of the most formidable names in the realm of tennis.
With that being said, although the Greek star is yet to add a Grand Slam to his name, he has reached to top 3 once and is willing to go even further. Following an incredible 2022 season, Stefanos Tsitsipas is being considered to be an ideal fit to fill in one spot for the next Big Three.
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