Stéfanos Tsitsipás, once considered one of the most promising tennis players of his generation (reaching two Grand Slam finals in 2021 and 2023), and usually manages very well in this hard-court tournament, disappointed in the 2025 edition of the Australian Open, exiting the tournament in the first-round. He considers it "karma", because he was supposed to play doubles with his brother, Petros Tsitsipas, but later withdrew to focus on singles.
The Greek player, World No. 12 and seeded eleven in Melbourne, lost 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 to 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen, World No. 42, in his first victory against a top 20 at a Grand Slam. He believes that the tournament has become more physical since his first Australian Open in 2018. "I've had wins over Novak Djokovic and felt like I didn't have to exceed the most extreme version of myself in that particular match".
Talking about his defeat, he considers it "quite ironic": "My whole idea was to try to go deep into the Australian Open. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not playing 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".