US Open 2024: Stefanos Tsitsipas gives glaring assessment after exit - ‘Nothing compared to the player I was before’

Greek 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas said he is "nothing compared to the player I was before" after losing to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round of the 2024 US Open. Tsitsipas was beaten in four sets by the Australian, meaning he failed to reach at least one Grand Slam semi-final for the first time since 2018. The 26-year-old added that he does not have the same "hunger" as his younger self.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas delivered a glaring assessment of his own game after being beaten by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round of the US Open.

The Greek 26-year-old was the highest seed to fall at the first hurdle in New York, losing in four sets to cap off a disappointing run of Grand Slams in 2024.

It means, for the first time since 2018, he has not made the semi-finals of at least one of the sport’s marquee events, while he has also fallen outside the world’s top 10.

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And he was in no mood to find any positives after failing to reach round two at Flushing Meadows.

“I’m nothing compared to the player I was before,” Tsitsipas said during his post-match press conference.

“I remember myself playing when I was younger, playing with adrenaline on the court, feeling like my life depends on the match.

“And these things, I feel like they have faded off, and let’s say my level of consistency hasn’t been as big.”

Tsitsipas added that it is something he has noticed over the last couple of seasons, but that he wants to recapture the “hunger” that saw him reach two Grand Slam finals and claim some major scalps.

“I remember my concentration used to be at its highest, at its peak, back then, and that’s something that I felt has dropped a little bit,” he added.

“I know it sounds strange, but I feel like I need the hunger to reproduce the hunger I had back then.

“And I’m not a person that feels alright or settles for normal stuff. Like, I really want to regenerate it and bring it back because it brought a lot of joy to my tennis when I was able to feel that way on the court.

“I really don’t know why it has dropped the last couple of months. I would even consider it like one to two years I’ve been feeling that way. I guess I was just able to hide it a bit better and put it to the side a bit more.”

Against Kokkinakis, Tsitsipas hit fewer winners and more unforced errors to continue his poor record in New York.

Only twice has he reached the third round – 2020 and 2021 – while he has now been beaten in his opening match twice in the last three years.

He lost a close first set against Australian Kokkinakis before hitting back to take the second. But he was made to pay in the third for failing to convert four break points as Kokkinakis pounced late in the set before the fourth followed a similar pattern.

It continues an indifferent 2024 for Tsitsipas. The 26-year-old lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open but enjoyed a solid clay-court season.

He lifted the title in Monte Carlo and reached the quarter-finals of both the French Open and Paris Olympics.

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In amongst that, though, there was a second-round loss at Wimbledon and defeats in the last 64 at the ATP 1000s in Montreal and Cincinnati.

He attributed some of his struggles to a feeling of “long-term burnout” and hopes to rediscover the kind of consistency that had him as high as third in the world at one stage.

“What I’m struggling with right now is getting into that rhythm of wins and consistent good runs in Masters 1000s and big tournaments, those moments I had two or three years ago.

“I remember feeling great, being able to reproduce that week after week. Right now I’m way too far from even doing that. I just need to find ways that can help me get back to the wins first.”

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