Former Australian player Jelena Dokic has called for Stefanos Tsitsipas to take a break from tennis and consider making changes to his coaching staff.
The Greek star was outclassed by 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 and will fall No.12 in the world rankings, his lowest since 2018 as a result.
The 26-year-old from Greece has a career-high No. 3 ranking and has contested two grand slam finals.
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Speaking to media after the defeat, Tsitsipas was quizzed about his future on the court.
The right-hander has performed well in previous Australian Open campaigns, reaching the final in 2023 as well as three semi-final appearances.
He made his breakthrough at the event in 2019, when as a 21-year-old he upset Roger Federer on the way to the last four.
“He is in real trouble. He is struggling. Confidence on court at the moment, his shot selection is a problem at the moment for him. He doesn’t look settled out there on court,” Lleyton Hewitt told Nine’s tennis coverage.
“I know he has also spoken about he feels like he was hitting the ball as well as he has, but not structuring points nearly as well as he used to and he’s got some real holes in his game.”
Speaking after the loss, Tsitsipas was asked if he had plateaued since that upset against Federer in 2019.
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“I would actually say that I’m a better player now than I was back then,” he said.
“So even though I’m losing now and I’m not at my best, I feel like I’m much better as a player than back then where I felt like my shots were not as heavy in terms of topspin.
“I was playing much more flat and much more through the court.”
Despite how he feels about his game, it’s clear Tsitsipas is at a crossroads.
He’s now coached by Dimitris Chatzinikolaou, captain of the Greek Davis Cup team, after dropping his father Apostolos.
He also spent time working with Australian Mark Philippoussis for a period before going back to his father.
Dokic urged the Greek star to take a break from the game, while suggesting a coaching change might be in order.
“If I was advising him, I would take a year,” she said.
“Refresh. He doesn’t look motivated at all walking around and on court as well, no motivation.
“I think he felt like he should have won a grand slam, played a couple of finals. Get a whole new coaching team.”
Former doubles champion Todd Woodbridge said: “It looks like he has lost the love and passion for the game at the moment.
“It almost looks like he needs a break, several months away, to really realise how much he enjoys it. He looks lost. Totally lost.”
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