Australian Open: 'I guess karma hit me' – Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas quipped "karma hit me" after he suffered a first-round loss to Alex Michelsen at the Australian Open.

American youngster Michelsen triumphed 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 on Monday to claim his second career win over Tsitsipas, who was the first big-name exit of this year's tournament.

It marked Tsitsipas' earliest exit from the Australian Open since 2018.

A beaten finalist at Melbourne Park in 2023, Tsitsipas was left to lament the fact he had pulled out of the doubles on the eve of the tournament, as he now faces a long wait to return to action.

"The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a grand slam is that you have way too much time to recover, and I would rather have the other way around where I don't have enough time to recover," said the Greek.

"Honestly that's much, much better in terms of problem-solving. It just sucks in a way that I'll be around, hanging around, for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in.

"With my competitive nature, I feel like these type of things are not really ideal for me. I'll try and play [in the] Davis Cup. That's my next event.

"I hope things go well there. Then it's the Middle East that pops up on the calendar, and that's going to be in quite a few weeks from now. So I have plenty of time.

"It's quite ironic. My whole role was to try to go deep into the Australian Open. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not play doubles. I guess karma hit me.

"I was not able to deliver or play the way I was hoping to at this year's event. The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament."

Coin collector, fiesta lover, tennis player - Alex Michelsen #AO2025 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/xnagMctPr3

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025

Tsitsipas has won just two titles since the start of the 2023 season, and has dropped down to 12th in the ATP world rankings.

Asked if he felt differently about tennis to how he did when he first broke through, the 26-year-old replied: "For sure I had a fresher mind back then. It seemed like I was hungrier in a completely different way than I am now.

"I would definitely say that one thing that stood out the most back then is that I had this hunger to try and make a life out of tennis and to try to have a good beginning in my tennis career and my tennis journey.

"It's different than it is now. I've been quite well-established in the last couple of years, I have seen the game, and I have seen all variations of games around the Tour. I've done the same circle of tournaments and events. I've experienced what it is.

"I feel like there was a different energy, a different dynamic back then. I would actually say that I'm a better player now than I was back then.

"So even though I'm losing now and I'm not at my best, I feel like I'm much better as a player."

Michelsen claimed only his second career win over a former major finalist, moving to a record in 2-6 in such matches, with both wins now coming against Tsitsipas.