“I won’t let a result like this define the beginning of my year”: Stefanos Tsitsipas downplays early Adelaide exit

Stefanos Tsitsipas was surprised on his debut at the Adelaide International, losing in two tie-breaks to world No. 87 Aleksandar Vukic, 7-6(3), 7-6(5). The Greek was eliminated in the first round following his run at the United Cup, although he still took positive lessons from the defeat.

The former world No. 3 has high expectations at the start of the season and downplayed the significance of an early loss in Adelaide, where he was the seventh seed. Tsitsipas arrived after victories at the United Cup over Shintaro Mochizuki (6-3, 6-4), Billy Harris (4-6, 6-1, 7-6), and Taylor Fritz (6-4, 7-5).

The loss to Vukic was his first of the season after a solid showing at the United Cup, and Tsitsipas was satisfied with his level despite the narrow defeat, which he felt was decided by fine margins. “The opponent played really well,” he said at the press conference. “He showed a good level of tennis and, you know, at certain points of the match — close moments — he was just better than me.”

It was a match with no breaks of serve from either player. Tsitsipas fired 13 aces and won 88% of points on his first serve, while both players saved 4/4 break points. “I should have done something different, so I’m going to try and think about that next time. But otherwise, it was just a close match.”

However, a few decisions at key moments ended up tipping the match in Vukic’s favour. “I did come up with a drop shot there, I think at 4-2 or 3-2. And it was quite a poor drop shot,” the Greek said when referring to the second-set tie-break. “You know, I would have liked to put it on the court at least. It dipped into the net and that was not a great play from my side on that particular shot.”

Vukic advanced to the second round, where he will face second seed Tommy Paul — who is playing his first tournament of the season and opened his campaign with a win over Reilly Opelka. As for Tsitsipas, he will travel to Melbourne to prepare for his participation in the Happy Slam, which begins in a week.

Tsitsipas is currently ranked world No. 33 and, with several absences at the Australian Open, is set to enter the first Grand Slam of the year as the 31st seed, arriving with positive expectations. “I am playing good tennis. I won’t let a result like this define the beginning of my year,” he said. “I’m just focused on big goals and I want to accomplish great things this year.”

“It all depends on me and how much I’m going to work on the court, and the consistency that I’m going to show every single day,” the former world No. 3 added. “I have a long year and I’m looking forward to getting it started in the best possible way.”

The two-time Grand Slam runner-up is hoping to bounce back at the major tournaments, following a 2025 season in which his best results were second-round exits at Roland Garros and the US Open. “That’s my goal — playing well at the Slams, having deep runs, feeling my game and showing that I still got it.”

The Greek has enjoyed strong campaigns in Melbourne, not only reaching the final in 2023 — where he fell to Novak Djokovic — but also making the semifinals three times (2019, 2021 and 2022). In 2025, he lost in the first round, meaning he will have a good opportunity to gain points this time around at a tournament that has historically suited him well.