Former world number one
Jim Courier has defended Greece’s Stefanos
Tsitsipas for his decision to withdraw from the
ATP Finals because of an injury.
The 25-year-old withdrew from the competition during the second group match against
Denmark’s Holger Rune because of an injury.
Following that, Tsitsipas received some criticism from the fans
on social media, largely because his departure disrupted what would’ve been
an extremely competitive group which also included the likes of world number one Novak
Djokovic and Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Courier was recently quoted in a
report where he defended Tsitsipas for his decision to withdraw from the
competition, citing fitness concerns.
"Tsitsipas is a very thoughtful guy, and he is not an
overly selfish guy when it comes to it," he said. "He understands the
big picture. He wouldn't want to do that to the tournament, but it's what
happened.”
The 53-year-old also went on to suggest that the slow surface
in Turin might have aggravated Tsitsipas’ injury.
"I mean, you've got to give it a shot in your heart if
you think you can go out there and finish the match,” he said. “But with the
back thing, too, on this really quick, low-bouncing core, it's very demanding
on the body. Your reaction time has to be even quicker, and that just puts your
body at peril, as we can see.”
