Next-generation star, Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled to find inspiration during his disappointing first-round loss against Andrey Rublev at the US Open 2019 on Tuesday. However, he has received backing from the 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is regarded as one the future stars to win a Grand Slam title reached the semifinals of the Australian Open 2019 and round of 16 at the French Open 2019.
However, the 21-year-old saw two consecutive first-round defeats at the major tournaments. The Greek explained a lack of inspiration, the reason behind his recent slide.
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In a post-match press conference, Roger Federer sends a message to Tsitsipas and gave an insight about what young players go through early in their careers. The Swiss explained that he was similar to Stefanos Tsitsipas in his early days.
Roger Federer said after his second-round victory over Damir Dzumhur, “It’s no fun to lose. No concerns. I’ve been there. I’ve had it quite often, it’s normal.”
The 38-year-old said he has experienced that when he insisted that he has no worries about Tsitsipas.
He said, “That’s not fun, not winning much, I can tell you. I have been there. You don’t like tennis when you’re traveling around the world and you’re sacrificing week for a week and you feel like the game is not there and getting pushed out early in slams and also tournaments.”
Federer further continued, “You feel all you want to do is, like, run the other way and just not be there. You’re stuck on the tennis court sometimes and you wish it wasn’t so.”
Federer, however, suggested that this happens with almost every player and it’s nothing to worry about.
He said, “I think there are very few players who don’t go through that, there are very few players, just from start to finish don’t have that feeling. But I had that quite often so it’s normal.”
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Earlier Tsitsipas said after his opening round defeat, “I feel like I’m doing the same thing over and over again, and my brain can’t really take it anymore.”
He added, “I feel like I’m doing the same routines on the court, the same execution, the same — I mean, same strategies and everything. And I feel like my mind is just — I don’t feel inspired.”