Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas might not have his father as his coach anymore, but he will always be grateful to him for saving his life at the age of 18. The incident helped the Greek adopt a fearless approach, which he often shows on the tennis court too.
The former World No.3, in a conversation with Tennis Channel recently, talked about how his father saved him from drowning years earlier. He called the experience ‘life-changing’.
“Yeah but at that time, it was life-changing when it happened and it gave me a different perspective of life, of my career, of my everyday purpose, let’s say. It was a very very eye-opening experience, which made me stronger for sure. I felt like it had a bigger impact on me than any loss or any negative emotion that I had felt in the past,” said Tsitsipas in response to the interviewer’s question.
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The incident occurred off the coast of Crete in Greece back in October 2016. Tsitsipas was swimming with his friend in the sea when a sudden high tide nearly drowned both of them. While both of them did their best to swim against the tide, the current was too powerful.
Tsitsipas had posted a video about it on his YouTube channel as well, in which he spoke about the horrifying experience and how he was helpless and had given up on his hopes of survival, till his father managed to rescue them.
At the time, Apostolos had said in the video:
“An essential condition for this to happen is the unconditional faith we have in what we do and what we love. What happened confirmed the love and faith we have for one another, that the sacrifices we make are not in vain.”
This makes the acrimonious parting of ways between father and son all the more surprising.
Why did Tsitsipas fire his father as coach?
Tsitsipas held his father accountable for his loss against Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the first round of the Montreal Open. In a post-match press conference, he announced that he had parted ways with Apostolos as his coach and claimed that his father did not give him the freedom to make his decisions.
However, he took to X later to apologise to his father for the outburst and explained his reasons for the same.
“My behavior on the pitch was unacceptable, and I feel disappointed that I got to a point where I showed a dark side of myself. When I feel disrespected, judged, or emotionally attacked, I tend to lose control of what comes out of my mouth, which goes against my values as a human being. I lost control and could not see clearly in front of me.
“My father has been trying for the last few years to train me, raise me the right way and provide me with knowledge and wisdom, both on and off the field. I thank him for that. I thank him for the sacrifices, pain and suffering he has endured to make this endeavor a success. From now on, his role will remain within the confines of the father role, and that alone. My father will continue to travel with me and be there to support me and provide assistance off the field, as I have always wanted.”
Despite not having his father as coach, Tsitsipas continues to go through a rough patch. The Greek star lost to British No.1 Jack Draper in the Round of 32 of the Cincinnati Open.
Tsitsipas will now aim for an improved performance at the US Open 2024. Prior to that, he starred in a win over the United States’ A. Anisimova and Taylor Fritz by teaming up with girlfriend, Paula Badosa in an exhibition doubles match, taking home $250,000 in the process.
