Stefanos Tsitsipas lost his cool after a five-set defeat to Daniel Altmaier in the second round of the US Open on Thursday, taking exception to his opponent's use of underarm serves. The Greek, a former world No 3, squandered a match point and fell 7-6 (5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a contest lasting four hours and 26 minutes.
Altmaier deployed the legal but rarely used underarm serve several times during the fourth set, prompting Tsitsipas to confront him at the net after the match. 'Next time, don't wonder why I hit you, OK? No, I'm just saying if you serve underarm ... if you serve underarm,' Tsitsipas told the German, implying he had intentionally targeted Altmaier's body during the match. The crowd booed as the world No 56 backed away with his hand raised, refusing to engage.
The defeat means Tsitsipas will end the season without reaching the third round of a grand slam for the first time since 2017. The 27-year-old has not won back-to-back matches since the Barcelona Open in April and has dropped to 28th in the world rankings. He recently parted ways with coach Goran Ivanisevic and reinstated his father, Apostolos, in an effort to reverse his decline.
