Greek No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas took time to respond to fans' questions on social news and forum platform Reddit ahead of the 2023 US Open.
Tsitsipas took over the US Open handle and joined the platform four days ago where he received plenty of interesting questions in an 'Ask Me Anything' session. Perhaps one of the most eagerly anticipated questions was why his father did not travel to New York to join his coaching team.
As earlier reported, Tsitsipas had shuffled the tournaments that Mark Philippoussis and his father would split between them to accompany him on Tour. But at the US Open, both of them were expected to be in his corner. The absence of Apostolos Tsitsipas certainly left fans with some sort of suspense.
One fan asked whether Tsitsipas is in the process of 'phasing out' his father as his right-hand man on the ATP Tour. Tsitsipas was appreciative of the work done by Apostolos who introduced him to tennis at the age of three. Tsitsipas stated that he will always be by his side.
"My father has been a great foundation for my tennis and personal balance in life. All he deserves is respect and appreciation for the work that he has put in. He will never stop being by my side."
Despite his absence in New York, Tsitsipas will certainly keep in touch with him on tennis-related matters as per his closing response. For so long Tsitsipas has blocked the noise from fans who have questioned his motive for persisting with his father in the team.
The pair have clashed before in disagreement on tennis tactics, and the general consensus was that he would be better off with some outside counsel. Tsitsipas also responded to a question from a fan wanting to know his biggest supporter. Tsitsipas named his younger brother Petros, also an ATP pro, whom he plays doubles with occasionally and who acts as a hitting partner while traveling on the Tour.
"My brother Petros. He always tries his best to be there for me and to ensure I bring the best out myself. He is honestly my rockstar! He cares a lot, and he means a lot to me."
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