Stefanos Tsitsipas was not feeling well at the 2023 World Tennis League, but he made one exception ahead of the final tie.
The Kites, team for which the Greek player, his girlfriend, Paula Badosa, and her best friend on the Tour, Aryna Sabalenka, compete, made it all the way to the final.
However, Tsitsipas played for the team only on the first day of the competition. First, he teamed up with his girlfriend Badosa to win their first match as a couple, and then he played alongside Grigor Dimitrov, losing to Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
But when it came to the second day of the competition, the Greek player was not part of the team anymore, or at least the playing part of the team, as he was replaced by Lloyd Harris, but still supported his teammates from the bench.
Tsitsipas seemingly withdrew from the tournament, as he was officially replaced by another player in what is a competition of four-player teams. Yet, everything is possible at exhibition tournaments.
For the final day of the competition, the Greek player is set to step up again, and his team will, kind of, bend the rules, as a total of five players will compete for The Kites in the final tie against The Eagles.
First, Tsitsipas will team up with Badosa for mixed doubles, before Badosa plays with Sabalenka in women's doubles, and the Greek's playing capacity won't be enough to play also men's doubles, as Grigor Dimitrov and Lloyd Harris are set to play that for The Kites.
Sabalenka will then compete in the women's singles, while Dimitrov will try to seal the tie in the men's singles. It's an interesting development, which no one expected when the Greek player made a decision not to play and was replaced by Harris, but in exhibitions, everything is possible.
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