Stefanos Tsitsipas makes losing return to ATP tour in doubles match with brother Petros

James Richardson 13 Feb 2023 5:37 PM

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates scoring during the men's singles quarterfinal against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic at Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

Stefanos Tsitsipas teamed up with his brother Petros for a doubles hit out as the world No 3 made his return to action following the Australian Open.

The Tsitsipas brothers proved no match for the team of doubles specialists in Britain’s Lloyd Glasspool and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara.

Glasspool and Heliovaara made short work of the Greek brothers claiming a quick 6-3, 6-4 match played on the Centre Court.

Tsitsipas will be aiming to maintain his strong start to the 2023 season when he headlines the singles field in Rotterdam as the top seed.

Despite the absence of the top two players in the world, with Djokovic still resting and Carlos Alcaraz making a return elsewhere this week, Tsitsipas still faces stern competition for the crown.

Tsitsipas has enjoyed a pair of deep runs on his last two visits to Rotterdam without coming away with a title.

He was a semi-finalist in 2021, and last year he lost in the championship match to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

This time around he might be in for an early test as he opens against rising Finnish prospect Emil Ruusuvuori and could play Jannik Sinner in the second round.

After his Australian Open final loss to Djokovic, Tsitsipas insisted he wasn’t crestfallen but inspired to get better to hopefully reach the level that the 22-time Grand Slam champion plays at all the time.

“There is nothing that I didn’t use in my advantage,” Tsitsipas told the press.

“There’s nothing that I could have extracted more for today. I did everything possible.

“You know, Novak is a player that pushes you to your limits. I don’t see this as a curse. I don’t see this as something, like, annoying. This is very good for the sport, to have competitors like him, to have champions like him.

“He’s very important for us that want to get to his point one day. Getting our asses kicked is for sure a very good lesson every single time.

“He has made me a much better player. He has made my levels of concentration higher and higher every single time I get to play him. You have to be really involved and you have to be dedicated to the game when you play against him.

“I find it a very important part of my career, to have a player like him that will help me grow better and do bigger things, speaking for my game.”