Tsitsipas “entirely dedicates” Roland-Garros performance to grandmother who passed away on Sunday, withdraws from Halle
The Greek player revealed his personal loss in a post on social media hours after his agonizing loss to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final
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Hours after his agonizing five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the Roland-Garros final, Stefanos Tsitsipas posted a heartfelt message on social media revealing that his grandmother (his father’s mother) had passed away five minutes before he walked on to the court for the final.
Tsitsipas took a two-sets-to-love lead against world No 1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday raising hopes of a first-ever Greek Grand Slam champion. But the Serb bounced back to score a 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win and capture his 19th Grand Slam singles title.
While Djokovic and his team were probably celebrating the win and his inching closer to tying rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the race for all-time Grand Slams in men’s tennis, Tsitsipas not only had to deal with the painful loss of his first Grand Slam final, but also the loss of his beloved grandmother.
“Five minutes before entering the court, my beloved grandmother lost her battle with life. She was a woman of great wisdom, whose faith in life, and whose will to transmit is incomparable with that of any human being that I have been given to meet. It is important that the world can rely on more people like her. People like her make you feel alive and make you dream,” Tsitsipas said in his post.
THANK YOU FOR RAISING MY FATHER. WITHOUT HIM, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
“I want to say that whatever the circumstances, this is entirely dedicated to her and to her alone. Thank you for raising my father. Without him, none of this would have been possible. Apostolos Tsitsipas, Stefanos’ father, is still his coach and has nurtured his passion for tennis, himself being a tennis teacher.
Tsitsipas, who has spoken about his interest in philosophy in the past, started his post on a philospophical note. “Life is not about winning or losing. It’s enjoying every moment, alone or with others. Live a life that has meaning, away from suffering and misery.”
It remains unclear whether Tsitsipas was aware of his grandmother’s death before he took to Court Philippe Chatrier for the final, or learnt of the same only after he came off the court. However, it is known is that his grandmother was a big fan of the Greek player and followed all his matches passionately.
On Monday morning, Tsitsipas posted another message, this time on Twitter – with the caption “Purpose fuels passion.”
Tsitsipas pulls out of Halle following grandmother’s death
Tsitsipas, who climbs to a new career-high ranking of No 4 in the world in Monday, has reportedly pulled out of the Noventi Open in Halle this week. The tournament announced the withdrawal on Monday afternoon on their social media account, saying it was due to “personal reasons”.
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