"We don't know how to play dirty tennis" - Tsitsipas' mother Julia on Wimbledon clash against Kyrgios
WTA
Stefanos Tsitsipas' mother, Julia Apostoli, spoke about her son's heated clash with Nick Kyrgios at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios played an entertaining but also heated match at Wimbledon this year. The Greek player won the first set in the tie-break, but he lost all the following sets.
Kyrgios won the match 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7), but tennis wasn't the main talking point after the match. The two clashed multiple times, especially after Tsitsipas hit one of the balls into the stands.
After that, Kyrgios demanded a disqualification for his opponent, and it clearly got in Tsitsipas' head. The Greek player attempted to hit his opponent a few times, which he admitted after the match.
Now, his mother, Julia Apostoli, spoke to Russian publication Championat about the match. According to her, Tsitsipas' opponent played "dirty tennis," which her son didn't know how to do.
"Could have played better, of course. Our [Wimbledon] match turned out to be very nervous with Nick Kyrgios. That is, we were practically offered to play dirty tennis there, but we don’t know how to play such tennis."
"Therefore, Styopa [Tsitsipas' nickname] lost his temper and left the court without getting there. The only person, perhaps, who brings him into a state of complete confusion is Nick Kyrgios."
Most recently, Tsitsipas competed at the Astana Open, where he reached the final. He lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, 3-6, 4-6, and his mother was present in Kazakhstan with him.
Asked whether she will be making more frequent appearances when her son plays, Apostoli explained that she traveled to Astana because she wanted to see the city.
"No, not necessarily [traveling with the whole family]. At the moment I am with them, because I really wanted to see Astana. Secondly, this tournament is interesting."
"Styopa has a main sponsor from Kazakhstan, a logo on the sleeve. The people are pleasant. Insanely beautiful city, amazing. I looked at the reviews, but I didn’t fully understand how wonderful it was here."
