Stefanos Tsitsipas mentioned he “felt foggy” throughout a shock Rotterdam exit because the Greek claimed that he had a tough time understanding what he needed to do in opposition to Mattia Bellucci.
After going solely 1-1 on the United Cup and disappointingly shedding within the Australian Open first spherical, the previous world No. 3 seemed to be catching some momentum this week after incomes his first back-to-back wins.
However on Friday, he delivered one other subpar efficiency and the Italian qualifier took full benefit to say a 6-4 6-2 win.
Mattia Bellucci© ABN AMRO Open/Instagram – Honest Use
Within the first set, Tsitsipas misplaced his serve within the ninth sport and missed out on a complete of 4 break factors throughout three video games.
Shortly after sealing the opener, world No. 92 Bellucci went on a five-game profitable run to open a 5-1 second-set lead earlier than serving out for the match within the eighth sport.
Tsitsipas: I had a mind fog, I could not see clearly
“I think it was a battle of freshness. He was more fresh than me,” the No. 6 seed advised Sportskeeda after the loss.
“My mind was a little bit – it felt foggy, like I had a brain fog during the match. I couldn’t see clearly what I was trying to do and where I was trying to play. And it was difficult.
“My serve wasn’t going; nothing sort of labored and I struggled to even get the ball over the online.
“All of my unforced errors were going to the net even though I was trying to apply some top spin to the ball – it felt like it was completely dead and I was frustrated with that.
“Having performed tennis for therefore lengthy, I felt like nothing labored.”
In the meantime, this has been Bellucci’s second huge win this week as he additionally shocked Daniil Medvedev within the earlier spherical.
The 92nd-ranked qualifier will play in opposition to Alex de Minaur for a spot within the Rotterdam closing, whereas Tsitsipas now sits at a 3-3 report in 2025.
