For gossip against Alcaraz: Tsitsipas weakened himself with a sleeping pill

class=”sc-29f61514-0 jbwksb”>

Suddenly he was wide awake again – and it dawned on him. But by then it was already too late. After the clear 2: 6, 1: 6, 6: 7 defeat against Carlos Alcaraz (20), Stefanos Tsitsipas (24) had to realize that his match preparation would probably not enter the tennis handbooks of this world.

The Greek was literally run over by the number one in the world, partly because Alcaraz is in top form. On the other hand, it was also because Tsitsipas then made a wrong decision, he admitted shortly after the game.

To regulate the regeneration phases that had thrown him off track, he resorted to sleeping pills – relying on a 20-minute nap before the quarterfinals.

Both were not a good idea, according to Tsitsipas: “It wasn’t really fun in those first two sentences. I was completely gone, felt downright sleepy. I hope that never happens to me again.”

He took the melatonin tablets because he had to play some late games at Roland Garros: “Not too late, but enough to ruin my sleep schedule.” The hormones should have helped him return to court rested.

“Surprised I didn’t feel adrenaline and stress”

It is not the first time that Tsitsipas has made “this mistake” in the French capital. He remembers a duel with Novak Djokovic (36) at the ATP 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy 2019, when he also used melatonin for the same reasons – and then also came under the wheels in two sets (1: 6, 2: 6 ).

In the charge against Alcaraz, he initially felt “calmer than usual”: “I was surprised that I did not feel any adrenaline or stress.”

Not ready for the important moments?

So Tsitsipas has to wait for reconciliation with the city of love. Not only did he have bad sleeping experiences in Paris, he also suffered the bitter defeat of his career here. In 2021 he lost the final to Djokovic at Roland Garros – after a 2-0 set lead. At that time of course without pills beforehand.

In general, the Athens man is gradually gaining a reputation for being unable to perform in the important moments of his career: compared to tournament victories, he has almost twice as many final losses (9:17). In addition to his Roland Garros final, he also lost it at the Australian Open at the beginning of this year (again against Djokovic). And his win-loss record at ATP 500 finals is devastating: 0:10.

Source : Blick