Tsitsipas faces stunning exit in Australian Open upset.©(@quindicizero )
Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted that his shock first-round exit from the 2025 Australian Open felt like “karma” after he withdrew from the doubles competition to focus on his singles campaign. The 26-year-old Greek, runner-up in Melbourne in 2023, was beaten 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 by American Alex Michelsen in a stunning upset. Tsitsipas had initially planned to play doubles with his brother, Petros, but withdrew from the event before the tournament started to conserve energy for his singles run.
Reflecting on his loss, Tsitsipas said, “It’s quite ironic. My whole idea was to try to go deep. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not playing doubles.” He continued, “The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher, hopefully, in the deeper draw of the tournament. I guess karma hit me. I could not deliver or play as I hoped at this year’s event.”
Tsitsipas, who has long been regarded as a future Grand Slam champion, reached the final in Melbourne in 2023 and the French Open final in 2021, falling to Novak Djokovic. However, his recent Grand Slam performances have been disappointing, having been eliminated in the first round at last year’s US Open and the second round at Wimbledon.
“The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover,” Tsitsipas lamented. “It just sucks that I’ll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in.”
Meanwhile, at Melbourne Park, world number one Jannik Sinner began his title defense with a dominant 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory over Chile’s Nicolas Jarry. Novak Djokovic also began his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, with Nick Kyrgios returning to tennis later.