"Congrats Shingo on your 27th" - Stefanos Tsitsipas congratulates Shingo Kunieda on winning French Open wheelchair singles title
Stefanos Tsitsipas congratulated Shingo Kunieda on winning the men's wheelchair singles tournament at the French Open.
The Japanese, who was seeded second in the competition, beat third seed Gustavo Fernandez 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in the final to win his 27th Grand Slam singles title. Earlier this year, he won the wheelchair title at the Australian Open, beating Alfie Hewett 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in the final.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
@shingokunieda claims his eighth singles title in Paris, earning victory against Gustavo Fernandez 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
#RolandGarros https://t.co/QZH1VobH29
Tsitsipas took to Instagram to congratulate Kunieda on his victory. The 23-year-old said he had been following all of the 38-year-old's matches in Paris.
"Congrats Shingo on your 27th! I’ve been following every single one of your matches. Meeting you was awesome!" Tsitsipas wrote.
Kunieda's now has eight Roland Garros singles titles to his name, as well as 21 doubles titles.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated in the fourth round of the French Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached the final of the French Open last year, was eliminated in the fourth round in 2022. The Greek was defeated by Danish teenager Holger Rune in four sets.
The Greek entered the competition as one of the favorites after impressing during the claycourt season. He successfully defended his Monte-Carlo Masters title before reaching the Madrid Open semifinals. He also made it to the final of the Italian Open, losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
Tsitsipas made a rocky start at Roland Garros, coming from two sets down to defeat Lorenzo Musetti 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. He then beat Zdenek Kolar in four sets before making it to the last 16 with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win over Mikael Ymer. His clay run, however, ended at the hands of Rune, who defeated the Greek 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
His early exit at the French Open and Rafael Nadal making the final means Tsitsipas will drop to fifth in the ATP rankings when they are released on Monday.
He is next scheduled to play at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart, where he is the top seed. Tsitsipas will be the favourite to win the competition, but the likes of Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov are capable of spoiling his party.