VIDEO | Stefanos Tsitsipas shatters headset into two in frustration during NextGen ATP finals

11/10/2018

Tennis can be vexing at times, so much so that players have been seen deforming their racquets by smashing them with some can’t even resist mocking the towel boy in the adrenaline rush. The latest to fall victim to the sport was Stefanos Tsitsipas who smashed his headset into two.

Top-seeded Tsitsipas had approached the NextGen ATP Finals semis match against Russia’s Andrey Rublev in great form. He had defeated the likes of America’s Frances Tiafoe and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets and looked set to overcome the Russian’s challenge easily.

However, in his way stood a hand injury that had already reduced his efficiency with the Greek ace also needing medical attention after he dropped his serve in the fifth game of the deciding set. The match was hanging at 4-3 (7/3), 3-4 (5/7), 4-0, 2-4 by then and Tsitsipas was understandably frustrated by the injury.

It was followed a moment of madness by the player where he was seen angrily smashing the courtside headset, which has been provided by the administration for the players to use to communicate with their coaches. Tsitsipas banged the electronic gadget on the table three times that saw it breaking into pieces before the player came to his sense.

It surely helped him as the player eventually got himself together to eventually win the last set 4-3 (7/2). “It was a rollercoaster match and I got very frustrated with all the breaks of serve I suffered,” said Tsitsipas after the match.