(Turin) Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew due to injury after just three games against Holger Rune on Tuesday in his second preliminary round match at the ATP Finals.
Tsitsipas, the 2019 tournament champion, was trailing 2-1 in the first set when he had a lengthy conversation with his sports physiotherapist after lying on the ground. He struggled to his feet, nodded and walked towards the net to shake Rune’s hand.
The match had started only 17 minutes earlier, and the crowd in Turin booed profusely – after a brief break, they were treated to a friendly duel between the American Taylor Fritz and the Pole Hubert Hurkacz.
Tsitsipas, who lost to local favorite Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday, had cut short a training session on Friday due to physical discomfort. The Greek, however, subsequently indicated that he was “very well”.
PHOTO TIZIANA FABI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Stefanos Tsitsipas, visibly physically weakened, struggled to move and called the doctor.
Rune also lost his first match 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1) and 6-3 against the favorite, Novak Djokovic, but the Dane is currently at the top of the Green group since the Serb must cross swords with Sinner a little later today.
“For sure (I didn’t want to win that way). It’s unfortunate, Rune said. You could see him in his first service game; it wasn’t totally comfortable.
“There was no doubt that something was going on and he requested the intervention of a sports physiotherapist that I knew. The season is long, I wish him good luck. »
Tsitsipas also withdrew from the tournament in 2021, after losing his first match.