Stefanos Tsitsipas slams umpire during first-round loss at US Open: 'You're all weirdos'
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Stefanos Tsitsipas was not happy following his early departure from the US Open on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas, who entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed, fell to Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 in a nearly four hour match Tuesday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
As he was sitting on the bench next to the court after the fourth set, Tsitsipas got into it with umpire Damien Dumusois, too. He wanted time to change, but Dumusois instead hit him with a time violation for taking too long.
“Do whatever you want, because you’re the worst. For some reason, you have something against me,” Tsitsipas could be heard yelling at Dumusois. “I don’t know what you have — because you’re French probably, and you’re all weirdos. You’re all weirdos.
“Give me warning. I don’t care. Give me warning, give me warning. Yeah yeah, give me warning. I don’t care. Give me warning.”
"You have something against me. You're French, probably. ... You're all weirdos."
Things didn't go to plan for No. 8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the #USOpen
MORE: https://t.co/QQHPExZwHz pic.twitter.com/4VzjFEJkz0— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) August 27, 2019
The Greek star stood his ground after the match, too.
“The chair umpire, he has something against me. I don’t know why,” Tsitsipas said, via the AFP. “I feel like some of them have preferences when they are on the court.”
That time violation was the second of the match, as he received one earlier in that fourth set after he started cramping up.
Perhaps the biggest issue Tsitsipas had came after the code violation he received from Dumusois for coaching, after he felt Tsitsipas was speaking with his father and coach, Apostolos, during the match.
“The chair umpire was very incorrect in what he was telling me during the match,” Tsitsipas said, via the AFP. “I don't know what this chair umpire has in specific against my team but he's been complaining and telling me that my team talks all of the time when I'm out on the court playing.
“I believe he's not right, because I never hear anything of what my team says from the outside. My father outside, who usually does the talking, he's trying to pump me up by saying, 'Come on,' raising my confidence but not coaching, trying to boost me up.”
Tsitsipas didn’t blame the officiating solely for his loss after the match, but admitted it impacted his thinking and decision-making.
Regardless, Tuesday’s loss marked Tsitsipas’ fourth-straight this month — and his second-straight first-round loss in a Grand Slam event following his early exit from Wimbledon earlier this summer. The Athens native had climbed to No. 5 in the world rankings earlier this month, too, a career high.
His recent downturn, he said, is starting to take its toll.
“I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again and my brain can't really take it anymore,” Tsitsipas said, via the AFP. “I feel like I'm doing the same routines on the court, the same execution, the same strategies and everything. And I feel like my mind is just — I don't feel inspired. I play out on the court, and I don't feel like I'm chasing something.”
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