"Very happy social media was not around to repeat" - Pam Shriver reflects on her worst press conferences after Stefanos Tsitsipas' dig at Andrey Rublev goes viral
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas vented his frustration during his press conference after losing against Andrey Rublev in the ATP Finals on Friday.
Tsitsipas expressed his disappointment at missing crucial opportunities during the match while also opining that he was the better player and that Rublev won with the "few tools" that he possessed.
"Yeah, he prevailed with the few tools that he has. It's a shame, I feel like the better player," The Greek said.
The World No. 3's comments quickly went viral on social media and he has received plenty of backlash for the same.
In light of this, former tennis player Pam Shriver took to Twitter to reveal that she had some terrible press conferences during her playing days and was relieved that social media wasn't around back then.
"I had some of the WORST post match losing press conferences of all time and very happy social media was not around to repeat again and again," she wrote.
🙄I had some of the WORST post match losing press conferences of all time and very happy social media was not around to repeat again and again. 🫣🤫🫢😬🙄
Andrey Rublev was later informed about Tsitsipas' comments and shot back, claiming his backhand, forehand, and serve were better than the Greek's.
"I don't know if I have few tools or no," Rublev said. "If I go shot by shot, I think his backhand is not better than mine, his forehand is not better than mine, the speed serve is not better than mine. He's faster and he plays much better in it. But if we go shot by shot, I don't think that."
Stefanos Tsitsipas ends 2022 season with most wins
Stefanos Tsitsipas' 2022 season came to an end after his 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Andrey Rublev in the ATP Finals. While the 24-year-old's hopes of a second ATP Finals title were dashed, he could at least be satisfied by winning the highest number of matches on the ATP tour this season (61).
The Greek star won the Mallorca Open and Monte-Carlo Masters this year. He also made five other finals in Rotterdam, Rome, Cincinnati, Astana, and Stockholm.
Tsitsipas, however, would be disappointed with his results at the Grand Slams. After reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, he couldn't get past the fourth round in any of the other Majors, with his worst performance coming at the US Open where he was shocked by Daniel Galan in the first round.