"Respect Stefanos Tsitsipas for going out & doing f**k all": Tennis fans miffed by Greek's Indian Wells participation amidst injury after 2R exit

Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a disastrous second-round exit at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters, a defeat that came as a surprise to no one.

Seeded second in the tournament, Tsitsipas lost 7-6(0), 4-6, 7-6(5) to World No. 87 Jordan Thompson. The defeat came shortly after the Greek claimed that he didn't have high hopes for himself in Indian Wells as he was still recovering from the shoulder injury that previously saw him miss the Mexican Open in Acapulco.

"I am still in recovery and I won’t be pretending … that I have chances of doing well in these next two tournaments, because that would be wrong. I haven’t said it a lot of times in my career but I don’t think I will be capable of going deep," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.

Several tennis fans responded to the Greek's early exit from the Indian Wells Masters on social media, declaring that he should not have competed at the tournament with his injury.

One fan claimed that Tsitsipas' trip to the Masters 1000 competition was a waste and that he should have returned to action at the Monte-Carlo Masters instead after a proper recovery period.

"Credit to Thompson, but that was a waste of an Indian Wells Trip for Tsitsipas who was so far from anywhere close to the level we saw in January. It would certainly be smart for him to get his shoulder ready and come back in Monte Carlo - where he is the 2x defending Champion," the fan's tweet read.

One fan stated:

"Honestly fully respect Stefanos Tsitsipas for telling us all he was going to do f**k all in this tournament and then going out there and doing f**k all in this tournament. Gotta' applaud it."

Another fan was baffled with Tsitsipas competing at the Indian Wells Masters despite not having too many points to defend, stating:

"I really do not get why Tsitsipas decided to play IW. He’s clearly compromised and not fully recovered. He might end up winning today but is he rly going to go far? He’s dropping barely any points here anyway, what does he gain from playing this?"

Here are some more fan reactions to Stefanos Tsitsipas' exit from the Indian Wells Masters:

Stefanos Tsitsipas has a 13-3 record in 2023

Stefanos Tsitsipas currently has a 13-3 record so far in the 2023 season. The 24-year-old helped Greece reach the semifinals of the United Cup before reaching his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. Here, he lost 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to Novak Djokovic.

The Greek then won both of his matches in his nation's Davis Cup Group 1 tie against Ecuador before suffering a second-round exit at the Rotterdam Open, losing to Jannik Sinner. Following his defeat at Indian Wells, it will be interesting to see if Tsitsipas competes at the Miami Masters.