Stefanos Tsitsipas believes his first-round exit at the Australian Open was “karma” after he pulled out of playing doubles alongside his brother to focus on singles.
The Greek athlete, runner-up in Melbourne 2023, lost 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen in the second day’s matches.
The eleventh seed was scheduled to play doubles with his brother Petros, but withdrew before the start of the tournament to protect his chances in singles.
“It's ridiculous. All my life [idea] It was an attempt to go deeper. “I knew the first thing I had to think about was not playing doubles,” the 26-year-old Tsitsipas said.
“The whole purpose was just to save some energy and be more active hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament.”
“I think karma got to me. I wasn't able to perform or play the way I hoped at this year's event.
Tsitsipas has long been seen as a future Grand Slam champion, having reached the Melbourne Championships two years ago and the French Open final in 2021, losing both to Novak Djokovic.
But he lost in the first round at the US Open last year and in the second round at Wimbledon.
“The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have a lot of time to recover,” Tsitsipas added.
“It's a shame that I'll be here for a long time now before the next tournament starts.”
In another match at Melbourne Park, world number one Jannik Sinner opened his title defense with a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory over Chile's Nicolas Jarry.
Novak Djokovic begins his bid for an independent record 25th Grand Slam title later on Monday, with Nick Kyrgios also returning to tennis.
