Stefanos Tsitsipas called Andrey Rublev a player with "few tools" after their winner-takes-all battle at the 2022 ATP Finals on Friday. Rublev beat Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to proceed to the semifinals, knocking out the Greek player in the process. The Russian has thus made it out of the extremely tough Red Group, along with Novak Djokovic.After the match, Tsitsipas stated in a press conference that he was the better player against Rublev but did not take his chances. He also claimed that Rublev took advantage of the limited tools at his disposal, much to the anger of fans on social media.Reflecting on the match during his press conference after Friday night's loss in Turin, Tsitsipas said:"I felt like the better player. I felt like I could do more with the ball today. I felt like I could just be much more creative...He prevailed with the few tools that he has, he was able to really take advantage of them and win today."This was Rublev's fifth win in 11 tour-level matches against Tsitsipas. He had defeated the Greek star at the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals last season too, as also in the first round of the 2019 US Open.Fans reacted swiftly to Tsitsipas' comments, criticizing him for not being gracious in defeat and for belittling his opponent's game."Biggest sore loser and most unlikable player on tour, proved it once again," one fan wrote.⚡️Buzzer Picks⚡️@BuzzerPicksBiggest sore loser and most unlikable player on tour, proved it once again twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 231"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1RBiggest sore loser and most unlikable player on tour, proved it once again twitter.com/tennischannel/…clara@rubledevwhy didn’t you put your million tools on the court today then🤨pathetic loser twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 644"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1Rwhy didn’t you put your million tools on the court today then🤨pathetic loser twitter.com/tennischannel/…"It's quite amusing to me how conceited he is, and this is not the first time he has been this condescending. He called Medvedev "boring and one-dimensional." Well if you really are so much better, you shouldn't be losing to these players let alone doing so 5+ times lol," another fan wrote.Srihari@srihariravi12It's quite amusing to me how conceited he is, and this is not the first time he has been this condescending. He called Medvedev "boring and one-dimensional".Well if you really are so much better, you shouldn't be losing to these players let alone doing so 5+ times lol twitter.com/TennisChannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 1644"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1RIt's quite amusing to me how conceited he is, and this is not the first time he has been this condescending. He called Medvedev "boring and one-dimensional".Well if you really are so much better, you shouldn't be losing to these players let alone doing so 5+ times lol twitter.com/TennisChannel/…Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Stefanos Tsitsipas' comments after the loss to Andrey Rublev:ericka 🌸@rubledeverbitterness isn’t a cute look, stefanos. twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 3544"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1Rbitterness isn’t a cute look, stefanos. twitter.com/tennischannel/…Ellie@alwaysfloperaalso talking shit about a player who’s liked and respected by everyone on tour is another level of pettiness twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 744"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1Ralso talking shit about a player who’s liked and respected by everyone on tour is another level of pettiness twitter.com/tennischannel/…in my tennis era@tenniseraWhen you have all the tools, sometimes the issue is with your box, Stef. twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 61"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1RWhen you have all the tools, sometimes the issue is with your box, Stef. twitter.com/tennischannel/…Doris@Dorli_Wi@TennisChannel obviously he didn’t need more to defeat you35@TennisChannel obviously he didn’t need more to defeat youjoy@careymuIIigaoh this is kinda pathetic twitter.com/TennisChannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 244"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1Roh this is kinda pathetic twitter.com/TennisChannel/…bayern & mavs@bavarianbaddieethe thing that bothers me the most about this (besides the insane arrogance) is that andrey has always been so nice to stef despite stef being on bad terms with most of his friends. so to make a dig at him is just mean twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 122"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1Rthe thing that bothers me the most about this (besides the insane arrogance) is that andrey has always been so nice to stef despite stef being on bad terms with most of his friends. so to make a dig at him is just mean twitter.com/tennischannel/…Tennis Ranter@TennisranterAnd what did you have? Respect those that beat you fairly. twitter.com/TennisChannel/…Tennis Channel@TennisChannel"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 344"He prevailed with the few tools that he has."Shots fired 😲 https://t.co/zuorMMHI1RAnd what did you have? Respect those that beat you fairly. twitter.com/TennisChannel/…"A bit more consistent with my returns" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on the aspect of his game he would like to improveStefanos Tsitsipas in action at the 2022 ATP Finals.Stefanos Tsitsipas also stated that improving his 'return game' is a priority for him during the pre-season ahead of 2023. He is aiming for more consistency in that regard as he believes he can "do more damage" by getting better at his overall return game."My goal for the pre-season is going to be perhaps a bit more consistent with my returns, because I think if I'm able to improve on that aspect of my game, I can do more damage," Tsitsipas said in his post-match press-conference, as his season has now officially concluded.At the ATP Finals, Tsitsipas missed out on a chance to end the season as the World No. 1; he had to win the tournament undefeated to achieve the feat. The 24-year-old is currently in pole position to finish the year inside the top 3, but Casper Ruud, who is in the semifinals of the year-end championship, is a contender for the No. 3 spot too.