Stefanos Tsitsipas' concerning form: Minor blip or major worry for a player once expected to become a multiple Grand Slam champion?
This year has been quite challenging for Stefanos Tsitsipas on multiple fronts. His underwhelming performances fractured his relationship with his father, who also doubled up as his coach. The two ultimately called it a time on their professional relationship after an outburst during his loss to Kei Nishikori at the Canadian Open.
Tsitsipas started the season with an injury concern, and bowed out in the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he was a finalist a year ago. Consequently, he dropped out of the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time since making his debut in the region five years ago.
A title at the Monte-Carlo Masters, his third at the venue in four years, followed by a runner-up at the Barcelona Open, hinted at a possible resurgence. While the 26-year-old tasted decent success on clay after that, his results took a nosedive once he stepped off the red dirt. He lost in the second round of Wimbledon, and went 1-3 during the US Open series.
When he first burst onto the scene more than half a decade ago, Tsitsipas was heralded as a potential Grand Slam champion in the making. He came quite close to winning one as he led Novak Djokovic by two sets to love in the final of the French Open three years ago. However, he let the match and the title slip out of his grasp.
There are a multitude of factors behind Tsitsipas' downward spiral. The most obvious and biggest is the regression in his game, which has led to fewer victories this season.
Stefanos Tsitsipas currently lags behind his usual pace compared to his previous seasons
Stefanos Tsitsipas has amassed a 37-18 record this season, and he has tallied fewer wins this year compared to what he has done by this time in the past. He finished the 2023 season with a 49-24 record, and did even better in 2022 as he concluded the year with a 61-24 record.
The Greek wrapped up the 2021 season with a 55-19 record. The pandemic-hit 2020 season saw him compile a 29-14 record, and he notched up a 54-25 record during his breakthrough season in 2019. Unless he goes on a major winning streak, it's unlikely he gets close to 50 wins this year, a number he has usually surpassed in the past or gotten close to.
Tsitsipas' serve has been a major reason for his decline. He has won 73.9 percent of points on the back of his first serve this season, the lowest he has in his career. He won a career-high of 78.1 percent of first serve points last year, and had an average of 76 percent between 2019 and 2022. He won 75.3 percent of those points in 2018.
An overall three percent decrease, and a five percent downfall from last year, is quite huge in a game of fine margins. Double faults constitute an average of 3.8 percent of his errors this season, another key figure in his poor results. He averaged around 2.7 percent in the last five seasons, and has surpassed his previous worst showing of 3.2 percent in 2018.
Tsitsipas' serve isn't the only thing that has let him down. He's getting owned by his rivals from the back of the court as well, and his backhand has become a major liability. Unless he fixes the loopholes in his game, his return to the upper echelon of the sport will remain a tall order. However, that's not the only reason for his current predicament.
The continued dominance of Carlos Alcaraz, and the rise of Jannik Sinner, has dented Stefanos Tsitsipas' chances of glory
Stefanos Tsitsipas dealt with the legendary trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in the first half of his career. The three blocked not only him but also many of his other peers from winning a Major.
From Tsitsipas' debut in 2017 until the end of 2021, the three legends of the sport captured 18 of the 20 Majors. Only Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev managed to snag a Major title in that period, the former at the US Open 2020, and the latter a year later at the same venue.
Nadal and Djokovic nabbed the first three Majors of 2022, and then Carlos Alcaraz ascended to the top with his win at the US Open. The Spaniard has added three more Major titles to his tally since then. As if that wasn't enough, Jannik Sinner joined the party this year, and has an impressive 55-5 record, which includes two Grand Slam titles.
Even if Tsitsipas fixes the flaws in his game, he now has to deal with two more generational talents. He's 0-6 against Alcaraz, and while he leads Sinner 6-3, the Italian has won two of their last three matches.
However, there's still some hope left for Tsitsipas. He accounts for one of Sinner's five losses this year. A win over the year's most dominant player even when he's not at his best is a promising sign.
If he retools his game, then he could challenge the best once again more often. His current slump is concerning but if he puts in the work to overcome his shortcomings, then he could still have a shot at fulfilling his dream of winning a Major.