Stefanos Tsitsipas, another forfeit: Saudi Arabia challenge with Jannik Sinner now in doubt
In a brief official statement, the Shanghai Masters organizers confirmed that Stafanos Tsitsipas has given up his participation in the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season at the last second.
The note explains that the Greek tennis player, who is currently at the No. 25 position in the rankings, preferred to drop out due to a leg problem.
Tsitsipas was supposed to play against Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the second round, having missed the first thanks to an ‘bye’. With the official forfeit, taking his place is Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic, who was re-selected as a lucky loser from the very preliminary round roster. Tsitsipas’ forfeit could also affect upcoming engagements, chief among them the Six Kings Slam scheduled for mid-month in Saudi Arabia.
The Greek tennis player has been included in the draw of the rich-premium exhibition tournament in one of the preliminary rounds, the one with Italy’s Jannik Sinner (the other is between Fritz e and Zverev, with Alcaraz and Djokovic already in the semifinals instead). The challenge is now in doubt, given the precarious physical condition and a far-from-stellar period of form for Tsitsipas, who has also had to deal with a back problem all season.
The last match played by Stefanos Tsitsipas was the one he lost to Joao Fonseca in the Davis Cup last Sept. 14. The Greek, this year, is suffering in no small measure from a lack of continuity: in fact, the last time he won two consecutive matches was in mid-April, when he beat Reilly Opelka and Sebastian Korda in Barcelona, before surrendering to physical prblems during the quarterfinal against Arthur Fils.
In the coming days it will become clear whether Tsitsipas will have overcome this new problem and whether he will indeed be Jannik Sinner’s opponent in the first round of the Six Kings Slam.
