On Tuesday evening, Stefanos Tsitsipas was swept off the court by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. Especially in the first two sets, the Greek had nothing to offer against the world number 1. Tsitsipas, who is ranked fifth in the world himself, attributes the thrashing to taking melatonin pills before the match.
Prior to the match, there were hopes for a thrilling contest between the two top players, but from the first minute, Tsitsipas had nothing to offer against the young 20-year-old Spaniard. Ultimately, he lost the match with a score of 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5). He himself provided a peculiar explanation for his poor performance. The match didn't start until 8:30 pm, so Tsitsipas wanted to take a nap before it began.
"In the future, I will avoid taking naps and using melatonin pills before the match," he told Nine.com afterwards. Melatonin is the hormone that induces sleep. "The schedule has been challenging in the past few days. I had many late matches, late enough to disrupt my sleep cycle. Sleep is important, and recovery is a crucial aspect when playing Grand Slams," said the tennis player. It is rumored that Tsitsipas also used melatonin pills before his match with Novak Djokovic in 2019. He lost that match with a score of 6-1, 6-2.
The match was so one-sided that fans began to grumble. Tsitsipas raised his arms apologetically to indicate that he acknowledged their criticism. Tim Hemnan, former Roland Garros semifinalist, said the following to Eurosport: "In the earlier rounds, it's normal to see a player being much better than their opponent in a Grand Slam. But this is the world number five, someone we believe has the potential to win a Grand Slam. Yet, in the first two sets, it was embarrassing how average Alcaraz made his opponent appear."
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