Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother explains what led to ATP Cup racket incident

Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother Julia has explained what led to the ATP Cup racket incident as she claims the Greek was full of negative emotions and he couldn't hold it anymore. 

After losing a tight first set in the tie-breaker at the ATP Cup against Nick Kyrgios, world No. 6 Tsitsipas exploded on the sidelines as he smashed the racket -- which hit his father and Greek ATP Cup Captain Apostolos Tsitsipas in the arm. 

Tsitsipas' mother was quick to react from the stands as she immediately criticized her 21-year-old son for his on-court outburst. 

"Stef was very disappointed in losing to Denis Shapovalov (the day before playing against Kyrgios). The negative accumulated inside, and Stefanos exploded like a grenade," Julia told Kommersant.

Julia explained "he hit his dad with the racquet" situation: "Stef was very disappointed in losing to Denis Shapovalov (the day before playing against Kyrgios). The negative accumulated inside, and Stefanos exploded like a grenade.

— Jess 🍵 (@jessica4stein) May 2, 2020

Tsitsipas, the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion, was eventually edged out by home favorite Kyrgios in a match which featured three tie breaks. 

"It happened accidentally, I didn't mean to do it and straight away forgot about it and moved on from there," Tsitsipas told reporters after the match. "It happens, I wasn't aiming to do that. It just went out of control, unfortunately." 

"Maybe I'll stay in my room for three days, grounded by my father."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2WrPYLd