New team, new outlook for Tsitsipas, who earned first Montreal win

The two-time Grand Slam finalist and 2018 NBO finalist hadn’t been in that position for eight years. For most players, their trajectory mirrors stocks — going up and down. 

Yet not many would have forecast Tsitsipas’ current predicament since he isn’t deep into his 30s but rather only 27. Tsitsipas himself doesn’t seem overly concerned, especially as he has a new coaching team. And if the NBO took place a few weeks later, he wouldn’t have needed to qualify since he won a clay event in Switzerland last month to end a year-and-a-half long title drought. Still, his ranking of no. 53 is 50 spots lower than his career high.

Continuing to work his way back up, Tsitsipas achieved another milestone on Tuesday, a mini one, when he beat Martin Damm 6-4, 6-4 for a first win in Montreal.

“I did it,” he said. “I want more, obviously. I'm not happy with just one win.”

What he is content with is new coach Thomas Perrin. Patrick Mouratoglou, who has known Tsitsipas for years, is also part of the entourage. It was two years ago after a loss to Kei Nishikori in Montreal that Tsitsipas said dad Apostolos would no longer work with him. In the on-and-off saga between the pair, Apostolos came back. But now it seems like he might never be returning. 

READ: Ben Shelton isn’t fazed by being defending NBO champ

“It's a chapter that should have started a long time ago,” said the Greek. “I guess I was too patient with my time and too nice with handling certain things, to take so much time to proceed with the change. But it's how life works. Certain things come at a certain time.”

Later, as he dwelled on the father-son dynamic in tennis, he heaped praise on Ben Shelton’s dad, Bryan. 

“He's an example to me of how a father should be around his child playing competitive tennis,” said Tsitsipas. “Like he's the perfect example, and I see him, and I'm like sometimes wishing things were like that, but unfortunately, they aren’t. But I am a big fan of Shelton. I am a big fan of his father and the way their dynamic works. So, I see it as a great example.”

Tsitsipas could face Shelton, the defending champion, in the fourth round but won’t be thinking that far ahead since he next tangles with Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca. If you think that Tsitsipas might be checking out Montreal’s night life in his free time, think again. In another nugget from his briefing with reporters, he said he is sleeping earlier these days. 

Draper, Hurkacz experience different fortunes

A back injury contributed to Tsitsipas’ ranking drop. Two other players who featured in Tuesday’s day session are trying to get back into the groove in the wake of injuries, Jack Draper and Hubert Hurkacz. 

A back injury contributed to Tsitsipas’ ranking drop. Two other players who featured in Tuesday’s day session are trying to get back into the groove in the wake of injuries, Jack Draper and Hubert Hurkacz. Draper, a former No. 4, needed a wildcard since his ranking has fallen to no. 143 thanks largely to a serious arm issue. Draper wept in his chair in the third set of his 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 loss to Terence Atmane. But Hurkacz, Montreal’s finalist in 2022, beat Marcos Giron 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. The Pole’s ranking fell outside the top 100 in June from a career high of No. 6, following a knee injury. He needed to use a protected ranking to compete in Montreal. 

Photo: Amélie Caron/Tennis Canada