"My mind felt foggy" – Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts to Rotterdam defeat against Mattia Bellucci

Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci caused another major upset in Rotterdam, knocking out Stefanos Tsitsipas to secure a place in the semi-final. This defeat is another disappointment for the Greek player, who had set his sights on winning the title in the Netherlands.

An upset

The tennis world was already shocked when Bellucci eliminated second seed Daniil Medvedev, but he went one step further by defeating Tsitsipas. In a match that lasted 86 minutes, Bellucci looked comfortable, securing a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

A key turning point came when the Italian saved two break points at 4-4, then immediately broke Tsitsipas’ serve. He carried this momentum into the second set, winning five straight games before serving out the match.

This is another huge win for the 22-year-old, who will now play in his first ATP Tour semi-final against Alex de Minaur. After the match, Bellucci reflected on his performance.

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"To be honest, at the beginning, I felt that I was not enjoying it as much as against Medvedev," he admitted. "So I had to do something to make that change then. But I felt I was playing great tennis, which may have brought me up."

Another disappointing defeat for Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas 

This latest loss continues a tough period for Tsitsipas, who has been struggling with form. He spoke about the mental and physical challenges he faced throughout the match, offering insight into the difficulties of competing at this level.

"I think it was a battle of freshness. He was fresher than me," Tsitsipas said responding  to a question from Sportskeeda.

"My mind was a little bit— it felt foggy, like I had brain fog during the match. I couldn't see clearly what I was trying to do and where I was trying to play. And it was difficult."

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Tsitsipas admitted he felt frustrated as nothing seemed to go right.

"My serve wasn’t going; nothing worked, and I struggled to get the ball over the net. All of my unforced errors were going into the net even though I was trying to apply some top spin to the ball— it felt like it was completely dead, and I was frustrated with that. Having played tennis for so long, I felt like nothing worked."

Despite this setback, Tsitsipas remains a world-class player with the ability to compete at the highest level. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back in the rest of the 2025 season, and if the Greek can win titles this year.

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