Paula Badosa sent a touching message to her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas after she advanced to the third round of the US Open for the first time in her career.
While Badosa is enjoying a successful week in New York, it’s been a different story for her partner.
The ATP No. 11 crashed out in the first round and made a heartbreaking claim that he is no longer the player he once was.
Badosa won the last four games of her second-round match against Taylor Townsend to come through 6-3 7-5. After enjoying a victory in the singles, the No. 26 seed confirmed that she had also entered the mixed doubles draw with Tsitsipas.
Yeah, I’m confirming that. I think hopefully we play tomorrow,” she smiled. “Really looking forward to it. It’s really nice to be able to share the court together. I mean, we’re spending time off-court but also on-court it’s really special in a Slam. So it’s like a dream come true.”
Their mixed doubles outing will allow Tsitsipas to stay in New York a little longer after he was stunned in the first round of the singles draw by world No. 86 Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Greek star ends his North American hard-court summer with a 1-3 record in singles, his lone win coming in Cincinnati.
It’s been a trying time for the 11-time title winner, who officially ended his coaching partnership with his father Apostolos after his opening-round exit at the recent Canadian Open. But Badosa made a heartwarming statement as she addressed Tsitsipas’ recent woes.
She added: “Also big shoutout to him that he’s going through tough moments but he’s a champion and he will always be a champion.” It comes after Tsitsipas shared some honest thoughts about his game off the back of his four-set defeat to Kokkinakis.
“I’m nothing compared to the player I was before,” the two-time Grand Slam finalist said. “I remember myself playing when I was younger, playing with adrenaline on the court, feeling like my life depends on the match.
