Stefanos Tsitsipas booed at ATP Finals as Greek forced to retire vs Holger Rune

Stefanos Tsitsipas was booed off the court in Turin as he withdrew injured from his ATP Finals match against Holger Rune on Tuesday. Tsitsipas needed to beat Rune to keep his hopes of advancing to the semi-finals alive after losing to Jannik Sinner in his opening match.

But the No 6 seed appeared to be struggling with an issue very early on in his match against Rune.

Tsitsipas called the physiotherapist to the court after just the third game and soon decided that he could no longer continue.

After getting out of his chair to let the umpire know, the crowd in Turin shared their frustration by booing the Greek ace.

Tsitsipas looked in some discomfort as he went over to embrace Rune before returning to his chair and picking up his bag.

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His withdrawal from the match means Tsitsipas can’t progress to the semi-finals now and Novak Djokovic can book his spot in the next round with a win over Sinner tonight.

If Tsitsipas officially withdraws from the ATP Finals then No 1 alternate Hubert Hurkacz will replace him for the final match agaisnt Djokovic.

Rune is currently top of the Green Group with a win and a loss, but he will likely need to beat Sinner to progress to the semi-finals.

Hurkacz would have had a chance to make it through to the semi-finals had he taken Tsitsipas’ place before today’s action.

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The crowd in Turin now have just under six hours until Djokovic and Sinner are due on court for the second singles match. Before that, the Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek face off against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the men’s doubles.

Djokovic will be playing for the first time after being confirmed as the end-of-year world No 1 after beating Rune in his opening group match. It is the record-extending eight time the Serbian superstar has seen in the New Year as the world No 1.

โ€œItโ€™s obviously the crown of the season, finishing the year as No. 1 in the world is a dream of every tennis player,โ€ Djokovic said.

โ€œItโ€™s one of the most difficult things to do in our sport. Winning Grand Slams and being No. 1 in the world are probably the pinnacles of the sport.

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