Stefanos Tsitsipas is feeling the heat, and it’s not just from the intense competition on the court. The Greek tennis star, who has dazzled fans with his skill and charisma, is facing a rough patch this season. Despite participating in several tournaments, he has only managed to clinch one title—the Monte Carlo Masters. For a player of his caliber, it’s been a year of missed opportunities and mounting pressure. But what’s worse than the sting of defeat? Being labeled a “fraud” by critics who once sang your praises. It’s a harsh reality that Tsitsipas is currently grappling with.

The Greek sensation entered the Canadian Open as one of the most formidable forces to deal with. But unfortunately, he lost in his second match itself against Japan’s Kei Nishikori in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. And the most interesting fact about his defeat is the ranking of both the players. Despite being ranked 576, Nishikori managed to baffle the World No. 11 in a crucial tournament ahead of the US Open, and this seems to have shocked the fans.

Taking to X, journalist Jose Morgado tweeted interesting facts about the match. “WOW. 🇯🇵 In a battle of former finalists, 34yo Kei Nishikori, currently outside the top 500 after basically not playing tennis for 3 years, defeats #11 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the last 16 in Montreal. Best win in terms of the ranking since the Tokyo’2021 Olympics!!!.” For the unversed, this is Nishikori’s best win since 2021 when he defeated Andrey Rublev in a similar match 6-3,6-4, where the latter was placed within the top 20, and Nishikori outside the top 500.

The fans, meanwhile, have taken a sharp dig at Tsitsipas and are making brutal statements against the star player for his successive defeats. 

‘Legit Fraud’ – Fans lash out at Tsitsipas’ performance

As soon as Morgado’s tweet went viral, several fans joined in to express their surprise and agony. Taking to X, one user wrote, “Stefanos is legit a fraud.” Right before the beginning of the tournament, Tsitsipas seemed to justify his defeat at the Olympics against Novak Djokovic to motivate himself.

Speaking ahead of his match, he revealed that the defeat gave him the chance to prepare for the event. “I try to make the most of my opportunities regardless of the draw and I hope to make my way in this tournament this year. It would have been different if I had come here with a medal, but my medal for this week will be to try to get closer to returning to the top 10.” But his surprising defeat does not align with his words at all! Several other users took a dig at the player similarly. 

Responding to the tweet, one user wrote, “Tsitsipas always looks in a rush to get the match over with win or lose, rarely see him battle or dig deep.” Interestingly, Tsitsipas has not played more than two sets in the past three ATP tournaments that he has played. He played two matches at the Halle Open where he won the first in straight sets and lost the second in the same succession. In his Swiss Open campaign, he once again won two of his three matches in straight sets and lost the third one similarly. Finally, he has repeated the trend in the Canadian Open. Remember, all three tournaments were a best-of-three event. The series of backlashes continued.   

One more user joined in to take a dig at the Greek’s relationship with Paula Badosa. “Tsitsipas has plenty of time to go to Toronto to cheer for badosa 😬,” the user wrote. While earlier Badosa had remarked her anger over the criticism the players receive over their relationship, the tennis community has continued its unabated attacks which have once again increased. The WTA star, meanwhile, won her first match against Clara Tauson and is scheduled to play Jelena Ostapenko in the second round. 

Another user attributed the defeat to Karma. “Karma for robbing sinner in Monte Carlo. What a loser.” During his semi-final match against Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters this year, the Greek shot a ball that landed outside the line. However, this was neither called out by the line umpire nor did the Italian dynamo manage to understand. Eventually, Tsitsipas clinched the match and the title, which led to a huge furor in the tennis community. 

One more user simply shed light on his losing streak. “Tsitsipas biggest choker and loser of all time.”As the season progresses, it would be interesting to see if the Greek star can overcome his challenges and win big eventually moving towards the last Grand Slam of the year.