"Dear haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at" - Stefanos Tsitsipas after ATP Finals exit
Stefanos Tsitsipas had a message for his naysayers after a frustrating loss to Andrey Rublev in the ATP Finals on Friday.
The Greek provoked criticism from tennis fans after saying he was the better player against Rublev and that the Russian won even though he had "few tools." He was also seen remonstrating towards his parents during the match, leading tennis fans to urge him to relieve his dad from his coaching duties.
Tsitsipas took to Instagram soon after the match with a message for his "haters."
"Dear haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at. Just be patient," he wrote.
"I feel like the better player" - Stefanos Tsitsipas' subtle jab at Andrey Rublev.
Andrey Rublev reached his maiden semifinal at the season-ending championship after scoring a stunning 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsiapas dominated the first set, but Rublev fought back and reduced his errors to win the second and force a decider. The Russian broke the Greek twice in the third set to win it comfortably.
During his presser, Tsitsipas applauded Rublev for serving and returning well. However, in a surprising twist, he opined that he was the better player and disparaged the Russian further by saying he made the most of the "few tools" he possessed.
"I was serving well. I found the spots, you know? I mean, he's a good returner. Nothing to take away from him, He played a lot of returns in. I tried to mix it up at the end. I didn't really feel threatened. I just wanted to try something new, to see if it might work and throw him off a little bit. Yeah, we had a very long game towards the end where I kept trying new things. I can say things were coming off the racquet pretty good from his side," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.
"It's a shame. I feel like the better player. I felt like I could do more with the ball today. I felt like I could just be much more creative. I don't even have to say that. I think it's quite obvious. But, yeah, he prevailed with the few tools that he has. He was able to really take advantage of them and win today," he added.
Tsitsipas ended his season with the most wins on the ATP tour (61). He won two titles - Mallorca and Monte Carlo and made five other finals.