"He needs to continue to improve what shouldn’t be that difficult to improve from where I’m sitting" - Jim Courier attacks Tsitsipas current 'inadequate' ability on court

Despite being in woeful form in recent times, Stefanos Tsitsipas managed to pick up a huge win at the Madrid Open over Alexander Bublik to see his move into the third round. Nevertheless, he was still on the end of a scathing attack by four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier who lamented the Greek over his tennis.

It has been a torrid time on court for Tsitsipas in recent times. He has seen himself plummet down the ATP rankings at a steady rate while seemingly reaching new lows every other week. Early exits have been the norm, which is why this run to the third round in the Spanish capital is an eye-catching one.

Funnily enough, despite his poor form on tour, the former world number three has picked up a trio of top 20 wins, with Bubluk the latest casualty. He also bettered Daniil Medvedev in Qatar and Alex de Minaur in Miami.

He was almost dumped out in the first round of the Madrid Open after a thrilling matchup against Patrick Kypson. The American lucky loser hopped out of the blocks the faster, getting a set lead while an angry Tsitsipas trudged along, trying to keep up.

Fortunately for him, he managed to force a brace of tiebreaks in the second and third set. Knowing that he needed to win both of them to stay in the tournament, that is exactly what he did in fine fashion, sending Kypson tumbling out and setting up that clash against Bublik.

Their first two meetings came back in 2020, in which Tsitsipas won both of them at a time where he was a much better tennis player than now. He made it three out of three against the eighth seed who has seen his clay swing stall after a quarterfinal showing in the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Tsitsipas nicked a break at the start and end of the first set to put him in front. Bublik was determined to find a way back into the match but could not make a dent on the Tsitsipas serve. In the end, the two-time Grand Slam finalist broke the Kazakh's serve right at the end to complete a noticeable victory.

However, not everyone was praising Tsitsipas for what could be an important win in his career. Courier was in disbelief about the level that Tsitsipas was showing on court, going on a rant while commentating the match on the Tennis Channel, sharing his disgust and fury.

“For too long, the weaknesses in his game have remained," he stated. "His slice backhand, inadequate. His backhand return, inadequate. His inability on other surfaces to recognise that he should be standing back to hit second serve returns so he can hit more forehands, that’s a failure."

He pestered the 27-year-old to try and improve his overall game, not settling for what he was witnessing currently. “He has not recognised that the game is moving past him and that he needs to continue to improve what shouldn’t be that difficult to improve from where I’m sitting.”

Tsitsipas will have another chance to impress, or infuriate, Courier as he takes on Daniel Merida for a spot in the last-16. It would be the first time Tsitsipas has reached it this far at Masters 1000 level since the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters. He will not only have to deal with Merida, but with what is set to be a passionate and partisan Spanish crowd. Marco Trungelliti got the full brunt of this against the Spaniard when he departed the competition. Another thing Tsitsipas has got to think about as he looks to rise back up the rankings.

Currently sitting in 81st, there was a huge threat that he would slip even further. However, he is set to gain points after making strides from last year's second round departure. A win over Merida will see him move as high as 75th in the world ahead of the last-16, important improvements which is something that cannot be said over his recent time on court.