Stefanos Tsitsipas has made a decision that has set him back even further ahead of the US Open.
Tsitsipas is a two-time Grand Slam finalist, but his recent form shows how far he is away from that player.
The Greek has also had many changes within his setup, as Tsitsipas has split with Goran Ivanisevic and reappointed his father as his main coach.
Tsitsipas is desperately in need of a positive US Open, but the outcome of a recent decision he has made makes that seem unlikely.
Stefanos Tsitsipas loses again after making last-minute decision to play tournament before the US Open
Tsitsipas only won one match at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, giving him very little match practice ahead of the US Open.
After rising American star Alex Michelsen withdrew from the Winston-Salem Open, Tsitsipas took an emergency substitution slot as the top seed into the ATP 250 tournament.
As the top seed, Tsitsipas received an automatic bye to the second round where he would play world number 76 Yunchaokete Bu.
The Chinese player had not won a single match against a top 50 player this year, but Bu was able to comfortably beat Tsitsipas, 6-3 6-2.
Tsitsipas has now lost five of his last six matches, and despite being a former world number three is probably the seed that most players will want to be drawn against at the US Open.
While it is understandable that Tsitsipas’ decision to play in Winston-Salem was to get more matches in, it now appears to have backfired.
Tsitsipas has now wasted both physical and emotional energy ahead of the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has a very poor record at the US Open
Tsitsipas has reached two major finals before, but he has been nowhere near to achieving that at the US Open.
The US Open is by far Tsitsipas’ worst performing Grand Slam tournament, as he has only won 46% of his matches in New York.
In his seven previous appearances at the US Open, Tsitsipas has been unable to surpass the third round.
| Year | Stefanos Tsitsipas’ US Open Result |
| 2018 | Second Round |
| 2019 | First Round |
| 2020 | Third Round |
| 2021 | Third Round |
| 2022 | First Round |
| 2023 | Second Round |
| 2024 | First Round |
Tsitsipas has won only one match in his last three appearances in New York, and is coming into this year’s tournament in perhaps his worst ever form.
The Greek has not performed well at any Grand Slam in the past year, having only won one match at his last four majors.
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