Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mom Yulia Salnikova says Novak Djokovic got here again “as a different person” after taking “a miraculous” rest room break within the 2021 French Open ultimate and admitted that she knew it was over for her son though he was up large.
Enjoying in his first Grand Slam ultimate, the Greek made an impressive begin and received the opening two units 7-6 (6) 6-2 and it appeared just like the Serb had his again turned towards the wall. Then, the now report 24-time Main winner left the courtroom for a number of minutes.
When the match resumed, the state of affairs on the courtroom utterly modified as Djokovic routinely went on to finish a 6-7 (6) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 comeback. Afterward, some accused the 37-year-old of attempting to “disrupt” Tsitsipas.
“When Novak went for a toilet break, which lasted, from my point of view, because we were sitting and waiting, an infinitely long time. But everything was according to the rules there, in fact. And when he came back, I already knew that Novak would win. He came back a different person. Yes, yes. How did this happen? A question for Novak,” Salnikova stated throughout a dialog for YouTube channel Mr.Tennis | Dychkovsky, through Championat.
Yulia Salnikova and host© Mr.Tennis | Dychkovsky
Even earlier than the ultimate, Djokovic used breaks in conditions the place he wanted a reset and that led to some sturdy accusations towards the Serb. Addressing that, Tsitsipas’ mom did not say something straight however appeared to insinuate that there could also be some fact in these claims that the previous world No. 1 “fakes” breaks.
“Well, it’s a miracle. It’s a miracle. How do I feel about these theses that Djokovic often takes fake medical breaks? If this is allowed by the rules… Probably, if you play with your best friend somewhere on the lawn, not for money, but just like that, of course, it would be disrespectful. But here, excuse me, everything is according to the rules,” Salnikova added.
When requested about his rest room break in his post-final press convention, Djokovic cheekily joked his “guardian angels” had been there ready to assist him.
Tsitsipas realized from that have and began utilizing it himself
A few months later, the Greek discovered himself in a decent US Open first-round battle towards Andy Murray. Down by two units to 1, the world No. 11 managed to pressure a decider.
Then, he left the courtroom for eight minutes to go to rest room. Through the time the 26-year-old was out of the courtroom, Murray was fuming and did not conceal that he was extraordinarily aggravated by the prolonged break. When Tsitsipas returned, he broke the previous three-time Grand Slam champion within the very first recreation of the fifth set. He went on to win the match 2-6 7-6 (7) 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Afterward, Murray stated he “lost respect” for the Greek and in addition stated pulling that off was “cheating.”
Andy Murray© YouTube screenshot
Patrick Mouratoglou, who was working with Tsitsipas on the time, stated the previous world No. 3 wanted some moments to “reset” and completely did not intend to “disrupt” the Briton.
“When a player takes a toilet break, he takes a toilet break most of the time not because he needs the toilet but because it is a moment for him to reset and to refocus. Most of the time he’s lost the set. He needs to calm down, be alone and be within himself to find himself a solution and that is the only thing that Stefanos does. It’s even annoying to think that a player would only do that to disturb the rhythm of his opponent. When he did that (took a break) against Murray he just won a set. So why would he try to break the rhythm?” Mouratoglou informed Tennis Majors on the time.
In that very same interview, the French coach famous that Tsitsipas realized a lesson from what Djokovic did within the 2021 French Open ultimate.
“When he lost his Roland Garros final he was two sets to love up. Djokovic took a toilet break, came back and then it was a different match. He learned from that. He didn’t learn that Djokovic broke his rhythm. He found out that Djokovic took time for himself in the locker room and was able to reset and come back different. He learned that, tried it and it worked out for him. That’s why he continues to do it,” Mouratoglou added.
In 2023 January, Tsitsipas made his second Main ultimate on the Australian Open and the Serb was once more his opponent. However this time, there wasn’t a lot drama because the former world No. 1 sealed a straight-set win.
This yr, Tsitsipas did not have an important season and just lately admitted that he’ll attempt to do some issues to attempt to rediscover his pleasure and recreation forward of 2025.
