"It was Zverev who tried to set the thing up and had the b**chiness that he said the father was texting him, those accusations were a bit harsh" - Patricio Apey on Stefanos Tsitsipas' toilet break controversy

Patricio Apey, manager and advisor to Stefanos Tsitsipas, has expressed his viewpoint on the controversy surrounding the Greek's infamous toilet break.

Tsitsipas made headlines at the 2021 Cincinnati Masters for all the wrong reasons. In addition to upsetting his opponent, Alexander Zverev, by taking an excessively long toilet break, he also gave the impression that he was getting coaching advice from his father, when the German claimed that the Greek also had his phone with him in the bathroom.

The live broadcast even showed that his father was on the phone as Tsitsipas was in the bathroom.

Then, at the 2021 US Open, Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas played in a five-set match that again featured a lengthy toilet break for the No. 3 seed from Greece before the decisive fifth set. After Tsitsipas took a brief medical break, Murray noticed something odd and questioned the delay.

In a recent interview with CLAY, Apey gave his opinion on the toilet break saga. In Cincinnati, he claimed that Zverev was the one who attempted to frame Tsitsipas by falsely accusing him, and that the allegations were somewhat severe.

"It was Zverer who tried to set the thing up and had the b**chiness that he said the father was texting him," Apey said. "Those accusations were a bit harsh. He got hit hard by Zverev, and Murray also later at the US Open. And it wasn’t fair."

"Stef knows he didn’t cheat. He sweats a lot, and he changes his clothes from head to toe, socks, underpants. Now the rule is clear, and when he gets to the bathroom it’s 3 minutes. Things are more manageable," he added.

---

"Stefanos Tsitsipas himself wrote a letter to the ATP board to ask them to clarify the bathroom rule, because he felt responsible" - Patricio Apey

Tsitsipas at the Western & Southern Open - Day 5

Patricio Apey continued by discussing the live broadcast in which Tsitsipas' father was seen using his phone while the Greek was still in the bathroom. He added that Tsitsipas himself sent a letter to the ATP board to clarify the situation following all the commotion because he felt guilty.

"I looked at that shot too and said f*ck," Apey said. "The father was talking to the mother and Stef didn’t bring his cell phone. What people don’t know is that he himself wrote a letter to the ATP board to ask them to clarify the bathroom rule, because he felt responsible."

"So that the players, the television, sponsors, the public, could understand what the rule said, which was very open. Luckily it was corrected," he added.

After facing early exits from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and the Canadian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas has started his campaign at the Western & Southern Open on a strong note.

He defeated Filip Krajinovic and Diego Schwartzman in the second and third rounds respectively after receiving a bye in the first round.