Thiem is kidding Tsitsipas – the answer is not long in coming

With his long World Cup breaks, Stefanos Tsitsipas caused a stir at the US Open. Now Dominic Thiem is also teasing the Greek on Instagram. Tsitsipas takes the swipe with humor.

Andy Murray railed after his five-set loss to the Greeks at the beginning of the tournament that he had lost respect for Tsitsipas. The main reason for the Scotsman’s frustration was an eight-minute “toilet break” for world number 3 before the decisive set. From Murray’s point of view, this took far too long and Tsitsipas did this consciously, knowing that it would physically affect Murray.

Tsitsipas’ toilet breaks finally became a big topic at the US Open, with numerous players expressing themselves – some also very critically – on this. Alexander Zverev, for example, even accused the Greek of exchanging text messages with his father during the long breaks, which would be illegal coaching. Tsitsipas denied the allegations and justified himself by having to change. It was only with his departure on Friday that the topic finally came to an end.

On Thursday, Tsitsipas addressed tennis fans with an emotional message on Instagram. Although he does not go into the allegations directly, he writes that he has barely gotten to classify his feelings in recent years.

“When you are in public, others only see and pay attention to the high points, but do not notice the low points. At some point the whole thing caught up with me and it was, to put it mildly, an eye-opening experience », says Tsitsipas, who can be depicted sitting in a bush. His appeal: “Put emphasis on your well-being, make your love as strong as possible and take time for yourself, then fulfillment and satisfaction will soon follow.”

Dominic Thiem can’t resist a swipe and posts a similar picture on Instagram (see above). It also shows the Austrian surrounded by plants. Thiem only writes: “I’m only taking a toilet break!” He also links tsitsipas. The Greek takes the whole thing with humor and comments: “Do you have your cell phone with you?”

Thiem, who was unable to defend his US Open title this year due to an injury, had previously expressed understanding for Tsitsipas’ somewhat longer breaks. He knows the conditions in New York “and you have to go out at least twice in a five-set match to change your pants,” Thiem told the “Tennis Channel”. “There’s no getting around it, especially if you sweat a lot.”

It is no secret that Tsitsipas and Thiem get along well. “Dominic inspires me a lot,” Tsitsipas said a year ago. “What he has achieved is outstanding.” The Austrian even helps him understand the game better. “Through him, I want to keep going in order to achieve what he has achieved. He’s a nice guy off the pitch. We are good friends.”

Thiem commented on Tsitsipas’ emotional words on Instagram with the words: “Enjoy your well-deserved break!”