The most controversial moment of the match – a four-set thriller Giorgos believed was “good for tennis” – has divided opinion among the tennis fraternity.
But several leading voices agree that Tsitsipas was lucky to finish the match.
“My stance is simple: You rifle a ball in anger/frustration, you get defaulted – whether it hits someone or not,” veteran tennis scribe Jon Wertheim tweeted. “I’m fine with the Djokovic default (at the 2020 US Open). But Tsitsipas skates because he happened to miss hitting someone on the fly (only on the ricochet)? Ridiculous.”
“You’re going to cross the line when you’re swearing at the umpire in conversation and you’re certainly crossing the line when you’re hitting a ball into the crowd like that,” added Tim Henman, who is on the All England Club’s committee.
“There’s no doubt that Tsitsipas is extremely lucky. If that ball hits a spectator, certainly in the head, you’re going to be disqualified.
“He’s got a point penalty and when you hear him talking about the frustration in the cold light of day of a match, he’s lost the plot. Playing against Kyrgios, you’ve got to expect those antics. He’ll get fined, but Tsitsipas is the one who’s been distracted. He’s the one who’s lost.”
Kyrgios’ dad wasn’t the only member of his family to rally behind him.
Older brother Christos was active on Twitter after the match, responding to quotes from the post-match press conferences where Tsitsipas had described his brother as a bully.
“Lol in competition trash talk is bullying? Man … watch some football, basketball or literally any other sport in the world. Trash talk is common.”
