Andre Agassi says it is “remarkable” how Djokovic has remained at the top of men’s tennis
Andre Agassi talks about Novak Djokovic’s success.
Sport in Seriousness
NEW YORK – In a small interview room at the U.S. Open with only four reporters present, Stefanos Tsitsipas essentially announced Tuesday that he is at a crisis point in his tennis career.
Having just lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis in four sets and capped off a Grand Slam season that saw him fail to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2018, the 26-year-old Greek admitted he was suffering from a sort of burnout and attributed his lackluster results throughout most of this year to lacking the hunger he had when he rose to the world’s top four in 2021.
“I’m nothing compared to the player I was before,” Tsitsipas said after his second first-round exit at the US Open in the last three years. “I remember when I was a younger player, playing on the court with adrenaline and feeling like my life depended on the game. And I feel like those things have faded away and let’s just say my consistency hasn’t been as great anymore.”
“I remember my concentration was at its highest then, at its peak, and I felt like that had dropped a little bit. I know it sounds weird, but I feel like I need the hunger to restore the hunger I had back then. And I’m not a person who feels good or is satisfied with normal things. I really want to regenerate it and bring it back because it gave me a lot of joy in tennis when I could feel like that on the court. I really don’t know why it dropped in the last few months. I would even say that I’ve been feeling like that for a year or two. I guess I’ve just been able to hide it a little better and push it aside a little more.”
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Tsitsipas is right: he is no longer the same player who once seemed ready to win Grand Slam titles, battling with Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev on and off while occasionally beating Novak Djokovic. Remember, this is a player who won the year-end ATP Finals in 2019 and reached six Grand Slam semifinals (including two finals), and now he is fighting to stay in the top 10.
Or maybe the problem is that he Is the same player with the same strengths and weaknesses, whose development stalled around the time of the 2021 French Open when he lost the final to Djokovic in two sets.
Whatever the case, the failure to break through that wall at the top of the sport seems to have taken a toll on him mentally. When asked if he was suffering from burnout, Tsitsipas said:
“I really don’t know. I’m not an expert, I’m not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but I’ve had these conversations with some people I’ve spoken to, and I feel like it’s a kind of long-term burnout. I’ve felt it since the beginning of the year. I feel like it’s the peak of a burnout that, whether you stop it or not, has already happened and isn’t going to regenerate itself just by going on vacation or staying away from the tennis courts. I feel like it’s something that actually continues regardless of whether I’ve stopped playing tennis or not.”
It is difficult to say what awaits Tsitsipas now towards the end of the 2024 season.
Earlier this summer, he parted ways with his father Apostolos as coach for the second time, but said he hadn’t been able to resolve his coaching situation long-term. Now, after that loss, he said, he’s ready to dig deeper into his game and mentality, knowing it’s now urgent if he wants to keep a major spot on the ATP Tour.
“Why not,” he said. “I’m struggling right now to get into the rhythm of winning and having consistent good runs in Masters 1000 and big tournaments, those moments I had two or three years ago. I remember feeling great and being able to repeat that week after week. Right now I’m way too far away from that. I just need to find ways to help me win again. I feel like I came up with some good tactical moves and approaches to the net today and overall I was aggressive and took my chances, but I’m lacking consistency in terms of doing less (things) but somehow doing them better.”
Follow Dan Wolken on social media @DanWolken
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