Wimbledon 2021: 3 talking points from Stefanos Tsitsipas' first-round loss to Frances Tiafoe
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out of Wimbledon 2021 on Monday, losing in comprehensive fashion to American Frances Tiafoe. The Greek has now lost his opener at SW19 on three occasions.
Tsitsipas failed to find any rhythm in the first two sets, and when he did start playing better it was too lateas Tiafoe maintained his composure to come away with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win.
Tsitsipas, who reached the final at Roland Garros a few weeks ago, struggled to return Tiafoe's serve for most of the first-round encounter, handing the American the biggest win of his career thus far.
On that note, here are three key takeaways from Tsitsipas' defeat by Tiafoe:
#1 Stefanos Tsitsipas' return went missing
Stefanos Tsitsipas' return was almost non-existent during his Wimbledon opener. The Greek managed to win only 33 out of 103 points (30%) on the American's serve over three sets and fared particularly badly on second serve (12 of 33).
It is also pertinent to note that Tiafoe committed three double faults, meaning Tsitsipas could win merely nine points on the American's serve of his own accord.
A strong return is of supreme importance on quick surfaces like grass, and Tsitsipas' inability to get enough serves back in play hurt him big time. Tiafoe also changed the placement of his serve regularly, keeping the Greek guessing.
#2 Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled to make the transition from clay to grass
Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the final of Roland Garros, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets. The Greek then opted to head to Wimbledon without playing a tune-up event. Tiafoe, on the other hand, contested matches at Queen's and Eastbourne before the grasscourt Major.
Tsitsipas struggled with his timing and movement throughout the match and the Greek admitted that a lack of practice on the surface proved costly.
"For sure the lack of matches was crucial today," said Tsitsipas. "I was thinking maybe I should have played the week before Wimbledon, either Mallorca or Eastbourne, I'm not sure. Any of these tournaments would have helped get me in a better shape, get my tennis ready for the grass court season.
"The transition from clay to grass, in my opinion, is probably the most difficult one, if not the biggest challenge in our sport. I just wasn't able to adapt, I wasn't able to figure these things out early in the match. You just cannot be defensive on grass. It takes away so much from your game."
#3 Stefanos Tsitsipas joins an unwanted club
With the loss, Tsitsipas became the third male player in the last four years to lose their Wimbledon opener after reaching the final at Roland Garros. He joins Stan Wawrinka (2017) and Dominic Thiem (2018, 2019) in the unwanted club.
Wawrinka lost to Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final in 2017 and followed it up with a first-round exit at Wimbledon, where he was defeated by Daniil Medvedev.
Thiem, who was also beaten by the Spaniard in the 2018 final in Paris, retired from his Wimbledon opener that year while trailing Marcos Baghdatis by two sets to love. The Austrian lost the French Open final the following year as well to Nadal, and once again exited Wimbledon in the first round after losing to Sam Querrey.