"He only thinks about shooting hard": Former French Open winner lambasts Stefanos Tsitsipas

Former French Open winner Adriano Panatta has criticised Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas for his inconsistent performances. The 26-year-old was once regarded as one of the most talented players on the tour but has failed to live up to the hype and expectations.

In the recent past, Tsitsipas has had inconsistent runs in different events. In the only Grand Slam of the year so far — the Australian Open — he was knocked out after losing in the first round to America’s Alex Michelsen with a score of 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. He was recently featured in the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he won three out of the last four titles. However, his journey ended in the quarterfinal, where he lost to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 1976 Roland Garros winner Panatta has been recently quoted in a report where he criticised Stefanos and stated that, according to him, the two-time Grand Slam runner-up is not an ‘intelligent player’. "In tennis – as in life – there are intelligent people and unintelligent people,” he said. “Tsitsipas is not an intelligent player. He only thinks about shooting hard and that's it, without thinking about the tactics to adopt.”

Tsitsipas is currently taking part in the Barcelona Open where he booked his place in the second round after beating America’s Reilly Opelka in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. He will next face America’s Sebastian Korda in the round of 16. He secured his spot in the second round after beating Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. It will be third meeting between the two players. In the previous two meetings, both players emerged victorious. Their most recent meeting was in the third round of the Miami Open earlier this year where Korda came out on top in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3.