Sydney, Jan 1 (UNI) Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday skipped his ATP Cup singles match but went on to win the doubles rubber.
The world no. 4 withdrew from his first match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the singles event due to a right elbow injury.
However, Tsitsipas partnered with Michail Pervolarakis and won a doubles game 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 against Hurkacz and Jan Zielinski.
The Greek, who has not ruled out returning to the singles court in the tournament, stressed that if he is unable to perform then there is no point for him to compete.
"If I'm not able to perform at 100 per cent, for me there's no reason for me to go out there and play," said Tsitsipas as quoted by ATP Tour.
"I'm truly relieved that I'm able to feel normal again after years and years of suffering.
"The concern was kind of something that I expected, but it's not serious. I'm just trying to protect it.
"I've been using some muscles that I haven't been able to use before and it takes a little bit of time to get into the rhythm and get to the level I want to," added Tsitsipas.
Aristotelis Thanos of Greece stepped in for Tsitsipas to face Hurkacz in the singles match but lost to the Polish 1-6, 2-6.
This is not the first time that Tsitsipas has withdrawn. The Greek had pulled out during the 2021 ATP Finals after playing one game due to the same elbow injury.
"There was a lot of thought behind it and it kind of hurts because I do want the best for the team," said Tsitsipas.
"I'm not playing as an individual. I see that as a team effort and I would love to (have gone) out there on the court today and played my best tennis, but I decided to take it a bit easier by starting with the doubles."
Greece lost to Poland 1-2 in Group D after Kamil Majchrzak of Poland defeated 6-1, 6-4 Michail Pervolarakis of Greece in another singles match of the 16-team ATP Cup.
UNI PN