Fiery scenes at the United Cup! Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas took on Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko in the Group C clash on Day 4 of the 2025 United Cup. During the match, fans witnessed quite a bizarre scene featuring the Greek tennis heartthrob. Tsitsipas was spotted throwing in some expletives during the changeover. What did he say, though?

Tsitsipas looked quite disappointed with his backhand and as per a post shared on X, he said, “My backhand doesn’t go anywhere. I need to put a f— truck behind it for it to go. It’s impossible to do anything with it.” Stefanos Tsitsipas was defeated in this match by 6-4,7-6(0). His ongoing struggle with backhand is perhaps going to be his biggest worry going ahead in 2025 season. Interstingly, Stefanos Tsitsipas also experienced a peculiar moment during this match. He was seen calling for a medical time-out, telling the paramedic that he wasn’t feeling well because he “feels like he had too much food.”

This was the first time Shevchenko was facing Tsitsipas on the tour and clinching a victory against someone like the Greek star will now do wonders for the confidence of the 24-year-old Kazakhstan. What did Alexander Shevchenko say after this emphatic victory, though?

“I think he (Tsitsipas) was not at his best today but still I played really well and I found the moments to win the match. It will definitely go in my record as one of my best wins,” said Shevchenko. He further added, “I was risking with my backhand down the line and it worked out really well. I’ve been dreaming of playing this event… it’s unbelievable to be here playing on this court,” the youngster said.

Talking about backhands, do you know Stefanos Tsitsipas once revealed that he switched to using single-handed backhand at the age of 8 to emulate Roger Federer? “I remember the phase that I was in between deciding which one am I going to follow. I remember showing up at practice on Monday and playing the entire practice with a double-handed backhand. Then next day on Tuesday, I just decided, You know what, I want to play single-handed backhand. That kept going for weeks and weeks,” said the Greek.

Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t get the start he would’ve wanted in his 2025 season. Well, the world number 11 needs to sort these things pretty quickly to turn things in his favor in 2025.

Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals his goals for the 2025 season

Tsitsipas played 64 matches last season and managed to win only one title. His last impressive run at a major event came in 2023 when he reached the final of the AO. However, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in that match in a hard-fought battle. With the 2025 edition of the ‘Melbourne Slam’ knocking on the doors, Stefanos Tsitsipas has now already made his intentions pretty clear. 

“I’m looking for a fresh, new 2025. That doesn’t mean to suddenly just start winning everything. That’s not the point of this. It’s just to see a trajectory of constant improvement, and improving in all fields in my career, but also in my outside life,” said Stefanos Tsitsipas. He further added, “I want to have stability in my life. Last year was a little bit up-and-down in terms of results, in terms of feelings outside of the court and on-court. So I’m just hoping 2025 brings stability, a lot of health. I also struggled with those kind of issues in the past. I’m hoping just for a healthy 2025 and one that brings me lots of good memories. It doesn’t have to be happiness, just lots of good memories.“

2025 seems to be a very important year for Stefanos Tsitsipas’ career, but there are a few concerns that he’d definitely like to address as soon as he can before it gets much worse. First among them, like we mentioned is his ongoing frustration with his backhand and secondly, he didn’t look too happy with his serve either, earlier in this tournament. Shortly after his match against Carreno Busta at the 2025 United Cup, Tsitsipas said, “Personally, I try to improve in all aspects of my game. It’s disappointing because I think I could have served a little better.”

He further added, “There were times when I felt my percentages could have been better in singles, but also in doubles, especially when I was serving on the advantage side. There were some moments when I might have missed too much, especially when I’m used to having a different outcome.”

Do you think Stefanos Tsitsipas can tweak these things a bit to make a comeback at the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2025 season?