Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a disappointing run at this year's
ATP Davis Cup, as Team Greece were eliminated in their World Group I clash with Slovakia.
The World No. 5 was part of the team competing at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens along with Alexandros Skorilas, Michail Pervolarakis, Aristotelis Thanos, and Stefanos' brother Petros Tsitsipas.
He had a stacked schedule in their tie with Slovakia over the weekend, starting with his singles match against World No. 149 Lukas Klein on Saturday, September 16. Although Tsitsipas emerged victorious from this match, he faced a lot more difficulty than many were expecting.
Difficult matches for Tsitsipas
Klein won the tiebreak to take the first set 7-6 (3). Tsitsipas was then taken to another tiebreak in the second set, but he won it 7-5 to force a decider. However, Klein then retired from the match halfway through the final set.
Tsitsipas then moved on to doubles on Sunday, September 17, where he and his brother were defeated by Klein and Igor Zelenay. The Greek duo lost the first set 3-6 but won back the second 7-6 (5). They fell short in the final set though, losing it 3-6 again.
The final match of the day for the 25-year-old was against World No. 113
Alex Molcan. The first set went to yet another tiebreak which Tsitsipas lost 6-8. He then fought back once more in the second set and won it 6-4, likely hoping that this time the decider would go in his favor. However, Molcan had a comeback of his own in store and the Slovakian player ultimately won the match 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3.
These results mean that Greece's team has missed its chance to compete in the Davis Cup Finals next year as they will not qualify from World Group I.
Tsitsipas confessed that he found the match against Klein 'complicated' but still thanked the crowd for cheering on the home team in Greece's capital city.
"I felt the people involved in the match. I had several failed attempts to close with a break. The crowd's energy blew me away," he said.
