"Bathroom Breaks" by Tsitsipas: Alexander Zverev supports Murray, Opelka and Thiem express understanding
The topic of Stefanos Tsitsipas and his long breaks outside of the court still dominated the tennis headlines. His colleagues, however, are at odds.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Sep 02, 2021, 08:08 am
The troubled Andy Murray , of all people, dropped last day's tweet. "Fact of the day," he wrote, "it takes Stefanos Tsitsipas twice as long to take a toilet break as it takes Jeff Bezos to go into space. Interesting."
Murray had already grumbled enough on the pitch in his five-set defeat against the Greeks and then explained his point of view. They knew about the subject in advance, said Murray, but the physical impairment was still there. "If you have to wait seven or eight minutes in a match like this, you cool off," said Murray , who was particularly concerned about the times that would have been before his service game. He appreciates Tsitsipas for his tennis game, but "I've lost my respect for him," said the Scot.
Zverev on Tsitsipas: "Happened at youth tournaments, but not if you are top 3 in the world"
Of course, the topic also dominated the press conferences of colleagues. Especially at Alexander Zverev, Murray ran open doors with his criticism. The German had seen the same spectacle in Cincinnati when Tsitsipas left the place with a bag and only returned ten minutes later, "... and his dad is texting on the cell phone". Tsitsipas then marched onto the pitch with a completely new tactic. "He either went to a magical place or there was a communication."
Zverev criticized the lack of respect, "something like that happens at youth tournaments, at futures or maybe challengers, but not when you are among the top 3 in the world." It is permissible, of course, "but that is an unwritten law between the players." Zverev admitted that he did not always behave correctly, destroyed rackets or went nuts. But he couldn't be accused of cheating, and he was proud of that, "and it will stay that way until the end of my career: I win or lose with tennis."
Tsitsipas had stated that he needed the time to change - and that this was allowed twice within a five-set match.
Dominic Thiem to Tsitsipas: Moving, yes, but with a time limit
Reilly Opelka and Dominic Thiem expressed understanding about Tsitsipas' behavior. He knows the conditions in New York, Thiem said in an interview with the Tennis Channel, "and you have to go out at least twice in a five-set match to change your pants. There is no getting around it, especially if you are sweats a lot. " But, according to Thiem, there should be a time limit, because it doesn't take longer than a maximum of five minutes to completely change. Murray is right: "Your own body cools down, you get stiff, that's not easy."
Zverev has new tactics ready
Reilly Opelka made a similar statement. Under these conditions, he too had to swap everything, "socks, shoes, insoles, pants, shirt, everything, the whole program," said the American. That takes five or six minutes, plus the way to and from the pitch ... "If people don't understand that, they have never spent a day in their life as a professional athlete." He doesn't know Tsitsipas, but he doesn't think there is any coaching. "I couldn't even take my bag with me today."
Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, seems to have found a solution for his next Tsitsipas match: "The next time I play him and he goes to the toilet, I'll go to the toilet and come back after him," he announced after his First win in New York against Sam Querrey .