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Stefanos Tsitsipas has discussed his and Paula Badosa’s mixed doubles withdrawal after his victory over Andy Murray at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Tsitsipas got the better of home favorite and two-time champion Andy Murray in the second round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Friday.
While the Greek emerged victorious, his girlfriend Paula Badosa was unable to produce a similar result in her second-round match against Marta Kostyuk. The Spaniard retired mid-match due to a recurrent spinal injury.
The decision to pull out of Wimbledon means that she won’t be seen competing in the mixed doubles event alongside her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Following his win over Andy Murray, Stefanos Tsitsipas suggested that he was relieved to have one less thing to worry about following his withdrawal from the mixed doubles event.
“Mixed is not a thing anymore, thank God. I prefer to live,” he said in his post-match press conference, smiling.
Tsitsipas was originally scheduled to compete in all three events – the men’s singles, the men’s doubles with his brother Petros, and the mixed doubles with Badosa. He touched upon his decision to participate in multiple categories at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
“It never crossed my mind that I would be doing all three in a single event. But I also see it from the bright side. You like tennis so much; you want to be in these slams for as long as possible. You want to challenge yourself in singles, doubles, mixed doubles. I personally like mixed doubles,” he said.
Tsitsipas may have withdrawn from his opening mixed doubles match with Paula Badosa, but he kept his promise of playing the men’s doubles event with his brother Petros. The duo faced the French pair of Luca Van Assche and Arthur Fils in the opening round.
The match was, however, suspended due to Wimbledon’s timing curfew, with the Tsitsipas brothers claiming the opener 7-6 (3) and the Frenchmen snatching the second set 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas to face Laslo Djere in the third round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
Stefanos Tsitsipas commenced his 2023 Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday and has taken the courts every day since.
The World No. 5 was drawn against former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem in the opening round. Their rain-delayed two-day match concluded in Tsitsipas’ favor after a hard-fought five-setter, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old then took on Andy Murray in yet another two-day encounter on Thursday. He was declared the winner after five sets, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Friday.
Tsitsipas will now contest his third-round match against Laslo Djere on Saturday. The Serb booked his spot in the round with victories over Americans Maxime Cressy and Ben Shelton.
