STEFANOS TSITSIPAS JOKED he is set to be grounded by his parents after injuring his father, Apostolos, during his defeat to Nick Kyrgios at the ATP Cup.
The Greece player lost his cool after dropping the first set to Kyrgios, angrily swiping his racket and inadvertently hitting his father in the process.
A shocked Apostolos was left with a bruised arm and walked away from his son at the courtside area, prompting Tsitsipas’ mother, who was seated nearby, to come and give her son a public telling off.
Tsitsipas — who claims it was accidental — received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct and then received a second early in the second set, leading to a points penalty, for hitting the ball away in frustration after losing a point.
Asked if he would receive a punishment at home, Tsitsipas told reporters: “Maybe, yeah, maybe I’ll stay in my room for three days grounded by my father.”
The world number six conceded he had lost control but insisted he had swiftly moved on from the incident.
Tsitsipas added: “It happened accidentally. I didn’t mean to do it and straight away forgot about it and moved on from there.
It happens. I wasn’t aiming to do that. It’s just it went out of control, unfortunately.
Greece lost all three of their ties at the tournament, with Tsitsipas going 1-2 in his singles matches — a disappointment as he looked to build on his ATP Finals win ahead of the Australian Open.
Kyrgios’ 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) win helped to ensure hosts Australia, who face Great Britain in the quarter-finals, ended the group stage with a third straight 3-0 victory.
He was reluctant to judge Tsitsipas for his outburst, saying: “I didn’t see it.
“I don’t think he meant it as well. I don’t think you guys should be giving it too much attention or looking too far into it, to be honest.
“I’ve done some stupid things as well in the heat of the moment. It was obviously an accident.”
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