"Stefanos is a spoiled kid that continues to be a disappointment" - Tennis fans slam Stefanos Tsitsipas after his clarification on Andrey Rublev saga

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been the subject of criticism from several tennis fans lately. The most recent source of backlash is the Greek star's clarification of his comments on Andrey Rublev.

Tsitsipas lost to Rublev in the ATP Finals last month, thereby ending his chances of qualifying for the next stage. In the post-match presser, Tsitsipas claimed he was the better player and that the Russian had "prevailed with the few tools that he had."

But in a recent interview with Arab News, the World No. 4 issued an apology to Rublev. Tsitsipas further suggested that he had made the comments to motivate the World No. 8 for his next match.

"What I said in that press conference against Rublev was very unfair towards him and not correct. I wanted him to be mad going into his next match (v Ruud), trying to play even better," Tsitsipas said.

For the uninitiated, it was in Tsitsipas' interest for Rublev to win his semifinal against Ruud, as that would have ensured the Greek finished the year ranked inside the top 3.

However, Tsitsipas' clarification did not go down well with many tennis enthusiasts, who took to Twitter to criticize him for his behavior. One fan accused the 24-year-old of "sounding fake" like Novak Djokovic in order to justify his actions.

"Now he's also sounding fake like Djokovic, trying to justify his action," they wrote.

Another fan called out Tsitsipas for his lack of sportsmanship and stated that he was "despicable" and a "spoiled kid."

"Stefanos is despicable. His whole persona, lack of sportsmanship, his obnoxious father and his plagiarised tweets add up to a total joke of a spoiled kid that continues to be a disappointment," their tweet read.

Another user said that Tsitsipas' clarification was unnecessary and made no sense.

"Stefanos the apology is where you should have left it. This excuse that you did it so Rublev would play better makes no sense," they wrote.

Below are a few more fan reactions to Stefanos Tsitsipas' belated apology to Andrey Rublev:

"I do regret saying that" - Stefanos Tsitsipas

Nitto ATP Finals - Day Six

In his interview with Arab News, Stefanos Tsitsipas talked at length about the Rublev saga. The 24-year-old explained that he was "extremely hurt" by the loss and wanted to "let some bad energy out," before admitting that it "wasn’t the right way to do it."

"So if I regret saying that? I do regret saying that, yes. It was not very good for me, I was extremely hurt that I wasn’t able to go all the way at the ATP Finals, it hurt me a lot, I tried to let some bad energy out but that wasn’t the responsible or the good way, even if I wanted something out of it, it wasn’t the right way to do it," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.

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