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Former World No. 1 Andy Murray recently denounced Novak Djokovic's clothing brand sponsor Lacoste's CEO for taking a dig at Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek's retirement from the 2023 ATP Finals.
Tsitsipas retired after only three games in his second group-stage match against Holger Rune on November 14 in Turin, Italy. The Greek looked uneasy as he trailed 2-1, and after speaking with a doctor during a break, he decided not to continue with the match.
Following that, Lacoste CEO Guibert Thierry took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Jannik Sinner on his last group-stage win over Holger Rune on November 16. However, in doing so, Thierry accused Stefanos Tsitsipas of displaying 'unfair behavior' by retiring mid-match.
"Hats off to @janniksin for his win tonight. Despite the unfair behaviour of Tsitsipas, he showed to everyone why he is a future champ and an authentic guy. #ATPFinals," he wrote.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has now taken to X to defend Tsitsipas over Thierry's 'bizarre' comment. He said that getting injured is a part of sports and isn't 'unfair behavior' at all.
"Bizarre post from a CEO of a sports brand. Getting injured is part of sport and isnt 'unfair behaviour'," the Brit wrote.
Stefanos Tsitsipas: "I hate retiring from matches, it kills me not to be able to finish this tournament"
During a press conference at the 2023 ATP Finals, Stefanos Tsitsipas extended his apologies to the audience for not being able to finish his match and for not giving his spot to someone else sooner.
"My apologies to all the fans and the crowd that came to support me today and watch the match. I'm really gutted that I wasn't able to finish the match. It's a shame also not to give that spot to someone else to at least try and do something with it," he said.
"My doctors and the countless visits that I had in last few days suggested that I play, gave me the green light to go and try it for myself, so," he added.
The Greek also talked about how much he 'hated' retiring from matches and how it 'killed' him for not being able to make a deep run at the tournament he won in 2019.
"I hate retiring from matches. I'm not the kind of person that likes leaving mid match. It kills me not to be able to finish this tournament, the one that I've prepped for for so long, made sure that I'm completely fit to perform at my best and show my capacities as a player," Tsitsipas said.
Hubert Hurkacz eventually replaced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the year-end championship. The Pole played his first match against Novak Djokovic but lost by a score of 6-7(1), 6-4, 1-6.
