There was a time when Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas contested Grand Slam finals with their futures seemingly guaranteed among the sport’s elite. These days, that level of tennis feels distant for both men. The reasons are varied and complex, but the outcome has been the same: a prolonged struggle to reclaim what once came so naturally.
Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas Struggle
Berrettini Stumbles in Argentina
Berrettini chose to begin his 2026 season in Buenos Aires on clay. It’s a surface that has never been his strongest but one where he can still impose himself when healthy. His opening match went well as it was a convincing victory over a tough opponent. It suggested he was rounding into form. The second match told a different story. His level dipped noticeably, though credit must also go to Vit Kopriva, who executed a smart and disciplined game plan.
Kopriva played with depth, consistently pushing Berrettini behind the baseline and forcing him to generate pace from uncomfortable positions. For all his strengths, Berrettini is not a stellar mover due to his size, and that limitation became increasingly problematic as the match wore on. He also lost confidence midway through when his forehand, normally a reliable weapon, began misfiring. The nature of the clay court further neutralized his serve, which couldn’t dominate the way it does on faster surfaces. All of these factors combined to produce a frustrating early exit.
Still, the performance should be viewed in context. Berrettini has been plagued by injuries and has spent very little time on court in recent months. It’s natural for rust to show, particularly on a surface that can be unforgiving against opponents like Kopriva who specialize in precisely the kind of grinding and deep ball striking that exposes his weaknesses. There is still time for Berrettini to find his best tennis, and with each passing week his form should improve if he can simply stay healthy.
No Light at the End of the Tunnel for Tsitsipas
The situation for Stefanos Tsitsipas feels considerably more troubling. He competed in Rotterdam and looked reasonably solid in his opening match, suggesting that perhaps a corner had been turned. That optimism evaporated quickly in the second round. To be fair, he faced Botic van de Zandschulp, a player who on his best day can look like Roger Federer and on his worst can barely find the court. Unfortunately for Tsitsipas, van de Zandschulp was very much in Federer mode. His serve and forehand were both stable and precise, which is half the battle for him.
What made things truly difficult for Tsitsipas was not just van de Zandschulp’s quality but the blueprint that has become all too familiar in matches involving the Greek: target the backhand. Van de Zandschulp did exactly that, attacking it relentlessly with both his serve and forehand. Tsitsipas struggled so badly under the pressure that he won virtually no rallies where his backhand was tested. At one point his return percentage dipped below 50 percent, which made things absurdly easy for van de Zandschulp to control.
Tsitsipas has become a shell of his former self. The serve remains solid. The forehand still flashes quality at times. But the backhand is horrendous, the return has become a liability, and those deficiencies are simply too glaring to overcome in modern tennis. While the win in his opening round offered a brief glimmer of encouragement, the broader picture is bleak. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for Tsitsipas right now. Perhaps one will appear eventually, but at this moment, it remains frustratingly out of sight.
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports