Stefanos Tsitsipas just can’t seem to crack the Carlos Alcaraz code! The Greek tennis star, currently progressing in his Swiss Open campaign, is now playing the quarterfinal match. However, it’s his so-called “rivalry” with Carlos Alcaraz that’s once again making waves—and not necessarily in a good way.

In a recent interaction at the Swiss Open, the 25-year-old was asked about his biggest rival on tour. Responding to this, he said, “I’d probably say… Carlos Alcaraz.” As soon as the remarks of Tsitsipas caught the attention of the tennis fans, they took to X to express their sentiments over the statements and criticized the Greek star for the same. This, however, is not the first time when Tsitsipas has made such statements.

Speaking after his latest defeat against Alcaraz at the French Open, he acknowledged that he faces trouble against the Spaniard. “I tend to believe that my ball quality is one of the best on the tour and every time I get to play Carlos, I feel like he delivers a shot quality that I don’t quite get against other opponents.” Continuing further, he expressed the challenges against him. “I feel like his shot hits deep and has a lot of top spin to it.”

Coming back to his latest remark about Alcaraz, tennis fans are roasting Tsitsipas highlighting his recent performance and records against him. 

“It’s not a rivalry,” Stefanos Tsitsipas mocked by tennis fans

As soon as an X (formerly Twitter) user shared the statements that Tsitsipas made, fans took to their social media platforms to express their disagreement. Taking to X, one user wrote, “It’s not a rivalry if you’ve never won a match against them.” Interestingly, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsistsipas have faced each other six times on tour, with three of the encounters being at the Grand Slams. Tsitsipas has failed to win even a single match and hence his ‘rivalry’ with Alcaraz seems to be an indigestible pill for the tennis fans. Another user responded similarly. 

Commenting on Tsitsipas’s remark, one user wrote, “That’s not a rivalry 😂😂 it’s gonna end up like Monfils djoko and I don’t think it’s a rivalry either.” Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic share one of the most lopsided rivalries in tennis history. The two have faced each other 19 times on the ATP tour and Djokovic has won all encounters. With Alcaraz and Tsitsipas beginning similarly at 6-0 in the Spaniard’s favor, fans believe it to end on a similar note. One more user joined the fray to criticize the Greek star.

Taking to X, another user wrote, “He is not in your league mate.” In the recently concluded Grand Slams, Tsitsipas’ performance has been the talk of the tennis town, but not because of the achievements. While he was ousted in the quarterfinals of the French Open by Alcaraz, he failed to make it past the second round at Wimbledon. On the contrary, Alcaraz went on to win both the tournaments. Besides, Alcaraz boasts 4 Grand Slam titles to his name as against the Greek’s zero. This made another user put Tsitsipas on blast. 

“They asked about rival, not idol,” a user wrote. Tsitsipas himself has acknowledged that his confidence was shaken by Alcaraz. After his defeat at Roland Garros, he admitted Alcaraz was simply “too good” and shook his confidence. “I know I had two matches that ended up in the fourth set, and I was accumulating great confidence.” Meanwhile, another user took a hilarious dig. 

Simply expressing their surprise, a user wrote, “LMAOO HE’S BETTER AT COMEDY THAN TENNIS.” While Tsitsipas has definitely failed to woo fans with his remarks, it will be interesting to see if he can turn the tables going forward. Can he make his first win against Alcaraz soon? Only time will tell.