Greek superstar Stefanos Tsitsipas has denied receiving any coaching during his Australian Open semi-final defeat, declaring Russian opponent Daniil Medvedev is “not the most mature person” for making such claims.
During Tsitsipas’ four-set loss last night, Medvedev let his emotions get the better of him after clashing with chair umpire Jaume Campistol for not initially handing the Greek star a code violation for coaching.
The No.2-ranked Medvedev unleashed at the chair umpire, questioning if he was “stupid” during a heated moment towards the end of the second set.
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Speaking on that moment after the match, Tsitsipas looked at the humourous side of the heated exchange before questioning Medvedev’s maturity.
“Well, it’s for sure funny,” said a smiling Tsitsipas.
“It’s funny. I don’t pay attention to the stuff. I know players like to do this stuff to throw you off mentally.
“Could maybe be a tactic. It’s alright. He’s not the most mature person anyways.”
Later in the match, Tsitsipas, who is coached by his father Apostolos, was hit with a code violation.
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An umpire was eventually placed underneath the players’ box before a coaching violation was later issued during the fourth set.
Tsitsipas’ denied receiving any coaching from his father, claiming it couldn’t have been possible with the noise levels in Rod Laver Arena.
“I wasn’t,” he said. “You saw me the other day, losing the score twice in two of my matches. I cannot hear anything when I’m playing.
“It’s impossible. Having the crowd being so loud in every single point, I mean, you have to have super hearing to be able to hear what your coach says.
“I was laughing the other day because I think in my match with Benoit Paire, I think my coach was, like, five kilometres away from the other end, and somehow I got a coaching violation.
“I think that was the funniest moment of the Australian Open.”
Tsitsipas claims he’s a “victim” of chair umpires only paying attention to his box, rather than the opponent he’s facing.
“I’m used to it (code violations),” Tsitsipas said.
“They’ve been targeting me already a long time. I feel like I’ve gotten a few in the past, and the umpires are always paying attention to my box, never paying attention to the opponent’s box.
“I feel I have been a victim of that for a long time now. I mean, what can I say?
“The referees, I don’t think they will ever understand that I cannot hear anything when I’m playing because I’m trying to find solutions and try and read the game and recreate the game in my mind before the point starts.
“Last thing I want is someone giving me tips and giving me advice on what I should do. I’m not the kind of person that would try and listen when out there competing, playing. Maybe in practice, maybe.”
Tsitsipas was then asked if he has ever previously discussed with his father about not talking.
“Yeah, I’ve had that discussion,” he replied.
“My father, look, he’s a person that when he gets into something when there is a lot of action, his medicine is to talk, and you can’t stop it. It’s something that he does from nature.
“I’ve talked to him about it. I’ve tried, spent countless hours trying to figure it out with him, but it’s part of him. I’m pretty sure I’m going to keep receiving coaching violations, even though I will never listen to any single thing he says.
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“But it’s fine, they can do that if they want, if they believe it’s right. That was also one of the reasons last year I went out publicly on one of my social media platforms and said that I think coaching should be allowed, simply because coaches do it anyways.
“Most of them get away with it and they do it pretty smartly, I can tell you.
“Not from my dad’s side, but I’ve seen a lot of situations. I’ve seen a lot of circumstances where the coaches would get away with it, and it’s a real thing.
“By letting it be a thing, I think there is going to be less tension and more clearance in every single aspect of it.”
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