"If it was only tennis against tennis, Stefanos Tsitsipas would win every time," - Mark Philippoussis urges Greek star to let his racquet do the talking after feud with Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas were both fined following their dramatic third-round match at Wimbledon. The Australian recovered from a set down to win 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) and reach the round of 16, but it was the chaotic nature of the tie that took the spotlight.
While Kyrgios was fined US$4,000 for audible obscenity following a code violation, Tsitsipas received the larger penalty of the pair, getting fined US$10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. The latter was warned twice by the chair umpire for ball abuse; he first hit the ball into the crowd and then appeared to direct a volley at his opponent out of frustration.
Former World No. 7 Mark Philippoussis, who has collaborated with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the past, recently reflected on the controversial third-round tie. Philippoussis stated that the 23-year-old needs to find a way out of irritable situations and that he needs to learn from this encounter.
"He has to find a way to manage it and focus on himself because it will happen again. He will expect it to happen again, because if it was tennis vs tennis, Tsitsipas would win every time. That's why Kyrgios needs the distraction, it helps him," Mark Philippousis said in an interview with SDNA newsline
So many supporting characters in this Kyrgios v Tsitsipas match;
-The umpire
-The “supervisor”
-The whistleblowing line judges
-Kyrgios’s team
-Tsitsipas’s dad
-Mark Philippoussis
-the bloke who nearly got hit by the ball
Looking forward to the Netflix 6 parter.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is mentally strong, he just lost his temper and he'll have to find a way to stay focused: Mark Philippoussis
Although tennis is a physical game, it’s almost impossible to win a match without a strong mindset. Players need to introspect and call on their inner reserves to maintain their self-confidence during a game and also harness their ability to stay focused amid everything else that is going on.
Emotions got the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third-round battle against Nick Kyrgios, and fans witnessed some very unusual behavior on the Greek's part.
On being asked whether Tsitsipas needs to work on his mental strength to handle situations like the one against Kyrgios, Philippoussis chose to look at the positives.
"Stefanos is mentally strong, he just lost his temper. He will learn a lot from this game and it will be a blessing for him in the future. He's going to have to find a way to stay focused on himself because he's going to play important matches against Nick in the future. He will have to find a way and I don't think something like that would happen again. Despite the constant tiff between them, he had opportunities in the fourth set and if he would have won, he probably win's the fifth too," Philippousis said.
Philippoussis also hailed the 23-year-old's attitude towards the game and stated that he expected him to do well in the upcoming hard-court season.
"He's a fighter, with a huge heart and is constantly growing in confidence. I think he's going to have a great summer in the US," Philippoussis said.
Stefanos Tsitsipas on his part wasn't impressed by Kyrgios's antics in the third round, and he acknowledged the situation on his Twitter handle.
My ability and capacity to acknowledge I was wrong is largely determined by the attitude of the person I’m arguing with.