Stefanos Tsitsipas stated that he already knew about Nick Kyrgios's off-court behaviors before the Australian was provisionally suspended after testing positive for cocaine. The Greek said the punishment did not surprise him and stated that the matter was already being discussed among people in the professional tennis circuit.
Tsitsipas defeated Frenchman Arthur Fils, then the number 10 seed at the US Open, 3 sets to 1, with scores of 4/6, 7/6 (7-3), 6/1 and 6/4, in his tournament debut on Monday.
After the match, Tsitsipas, 28 years old, was questioned in a press conference about Kyrgios's situation. The Greek said he had already expected the outcome of the case and that he was only surprised by the time it took for the suspension to be announced.
Tsitsipas commented that when he saw the news on social media, he thought: "Here we go again." He added that he decided not to delve deeper into the matter and preferred to focus on what happens on the court.
