Tennis legend Boris Becker considers Stefanos Tsitsipas’s participation in both singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles, at the French Open to be a reckless move. However, the Greek player has a reason: love.
Becker, a six-time Grand Slam champion, believes Tsitsipas’s triple workload at the French Open is unprofessional. “You’ve never won a Grand Slam, you’re in top form, you win Monte-Carlo, you’re now in the quarterfinals against Carlos Alcaraz – and then you waste time and energy on doubles and mixed doubles in the coming days? That’s bad advice, sorry,” Becker said on Eurosport.
The Greek tennis star played doubles with his brother Petros after his four-set victory in the fourth round against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. The duo won 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 against Denys Molchanov (Ukraine) and John-Patrick Smith (Australia). Today, he has his second-round match in men’s doubles and his highly anticipated mixed doubles appearance with his Spanish girlfriend Paula Badosa on the schedule.
During the tournament, Tsitsipas, ranked ninth in the world, was asked why he subjected himself to such a heavy workload. “It’s all about love. The opportunity to combine love and tennis is truly exceptional,” the 25-year-old replied.
Becker, smiling, commented on this statement: “I’m the first to understand doing things out of love that you wouldn’t do with common sense.” However, he thinks the triple burden is counterproductive to the title ambitions of the 2021 French Open finalist. “No one else does this except Tsitsipas.”
Former player Philipp Kohlschreiber also weighed in, considering Tsitsipas’s tough quarterfinal match against world number three Carlos Alcaraz: “You need every ounce of energy. That’s why it doesn’t make sense.”
The love comeback of “Tsitsidosa” has made many headlines during the French Open. The two tennis stars, Tsitsipas and Badosa, had broken up weeks ago but announced just before the Grand Slam tournament that they were back together.
