Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten in the first round of the Australian Open by Alex Michelsen and he believes ‘karma’ has hit him.

Emma Raducanu’s doubles decision backfired at Wimbledon (Image: Getty Images)

After pulling out of the doubles to concentrate on the singles, Greek ace Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a shock first-round exit at the Australian Open. A move he believes he’s now paying the price for.

Runner-up in Melbourne in 2023, Tsitsipas was unable to leverage his experience, succumbing to a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 defeat by American Alex Michelsen on day two. The intrigue intensified post-match when Tsitsipas confessed to experiencing “karma” after opting out of a doubles event he was destined to play alongside his brother Petros.

This move echoed Emma Raducanu’s controversial decision to bail out of her Wimbledon mixed doubles match with Andy Murray last summer, which sparked criticism when she withdrew with a stiff wrist, ending what would have been Murray’s final SW19 appearance.

While Raducanu quit mid-tournament to focus on her singles campaign, Tsitsipas made his exit from the doubles pre-tournament to enhance his singles prospects. Reflecting on his surprising loss, Tsitsipas noted the irony.

Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out of the Australian Open (Image: Getty Images)

“It’s quite ironic – my whole [idea] was to try to go deep,” he shared. “I knew the first thing I had to consider was not playing doubles. The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament. I guess karma hit me. I was not able to deliver or play the way I was hoping to at this year’s event.”

Raducanu courted her own controversy after the former U.S. Open winner actually ruled herself out of the Wimbledon doubles, despite advancing in the singles, in order to give herself a better chance of success, given the hectic schedule of playing both singles and doubles at a major. She was eventually beaten in the fourth round singles by Australian Lulu Sun.

However, Raducanu drew criticism from Murray’s mom, Judy, with the 65-year-old branding the young Brit’s rogue call as “astonishing”. Murray’s mom later clarified it as a sarcastic comment, yet Raducanu’s choice to drop out officially put an end to Murray’s Wimbledon career, after he had already withdrawn from the singles and was knocked out of the men’s doubles alongside brother Jamie.

A statement from the Raducanu camp at the time said: “Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight. I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care.”

It was understood that Raducanu’s team was reluctant over her decision to participate in the mixed doubles. The 22-year-old was reportedly unhappy when she saw the schedule for her match with Murray.

Although Raducanu’s request backfired, Tsitsipas will also be regretting his decision. Nevertheless, the future looks promising for the Australian and French Open finalist. He has long been regarded as a potential future Grand Slam champion.

However, he is all too aware of the pitfalls of being eliminated in the early rounds of a Grand Slam, having suffered a first-round loss at the U.S. Open last year and a second-round exit at Wimbledon.

“The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover,” he stated after his loss in Melbourne this week.