With an injured right shoulder, Tsitsipas thinks he is not “able to go far in Indian Wells and Miami” and wants to be 100% for the clay season

Speaking to the media on the eve of the Indian Wells Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed that he was not 100% physically ready before playing the Sunshine Double

Stefanos Tsitsipas Image Credit: Zuma/ Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

March 9, 2023

After reaching the final of the Australian Open finalist for the first time and getting off to the best start to a season in his career, Stefanos Tsitsipas has, unfortunately, not been able to continue in the same vein after Melbourne.

Eliminated in the second round in Rotterdam and pulled out of Acapulco, the Greek has been hampered for a few weeks by an injury to the right shoulder, due to a technical change made during the pre-season.

Competing at the Indian Wells Masters for the fifth time in his career, Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose best result in California is a quarter-final finish in 2021, is under no illusions about his chances of victory in the desert. In a press conference, the world No 3 admitted that he was going to play the “Sunshine Double” (Indian Wells and Miami) more by moral obligation and not to miss the first two Masters 1000 Series of the season.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t miss the next two tournaments. But I’m still recovering, and I won’t pretend that I have a chance to do well in these next two tournaments, because that would be wrong. I haven’t said it many times in my career, but I don’t think I’m able to go far. The priority is to prepare my body for clay,” Tsitsipsas said on Wednesday.

Tsitsipas: “It is a regrettable injury because I started the season well”

“I need to take my time and have the right medical team by my side to help me make the best recovery and not have complications like this in the future. When faced with situations like this, the only thing you wish for yourself is to have a healthy career, where you can go on the court and give your best without any repercussions,” the Greek told the media at Indian Wells.

“We have seen it with some champions like Rafael Nadal, who have struggled with injuries for a long time but are still able to play at a very good level. It’s a very unfortunate injury at this time of year, because I started the season very well,”Tsitsipas added.

The 24-year-old, who notably canceled a training session this week with Holger Rune, is due to make his debut in Indian Wells on Friday against Jordan Thompson, who defeated Frenchman G a e l M onfils in the first round on Wednesday.