Patrick Mouratoglou has jumped to the defence of Stefanos Tsitsipas by saying he never intends to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm during matches but concedes he takes toilet breaks not for the intended purpose.
The 51-year-old spoke about the topic during a five-minute video that was published on Tennis Majors. Tsitsipas came under fire during the US Open for his use of breaks during matches and have been accused by some of poor sportsmanship. During his first two matches, he took three toilet breaks, one medical time out and decided to switch his racket during the middle of one game where his opponent was serving. Andy Murray, who lost to Tsitsipas in the first round, criticised him for taking a break during their match which lasted around 8-9 minutes. In the second round against Adrian Mannarino, Tsitsipas took a toilet break after losing the second set before coming back to win the match in four.
Mouratoglou points out that the debate over the length of Tsitsipas’ breaks doesn’t change the fact he isn’t breaking any rules. The is no specific time limit and instead the rulebook defines a break as a ‘reasonable period of time.’ However, the purpose of those breaks is controversial with the Frenchman admitting that the Greek doesn’t necessarily take them to go to the toilet. Instead, he uses them to refocus.
“When a player takes a toilet break, he takes a toilet break most of the time not because he needs the toilet but because it is a moment for him to reset and to refocus. Most of the time he’s lost the set. He needs to calm down, be alone and be within himself to find himself a solution and that is the only thing that Stefanos does,” said Mouratoglou.
“It’s even annoying to think that a player would only do that to disturb the rhythm of his opponent. When he did that (took a break) against Murray he just won a set. So why would he try to break the rhythm?”
As for the criticism and booing that Tsitsipas received in New York, Mouratoglou believes the Greek has been unfairly treated and only one side of the story has been told. Although he didn’t address the reason as to why multiple players have specifically commented on the length of Tsitsipas’ breaks during matches. Besides Murray, Alexander Zverev, Filip Krajinovic, Daniil Medvedev and Ugo Humbert have all commented on the issue.
As for the reason why the world No.3 chooses to use these tactics, his mentor says it is something he learned from playing Novak Djokovic in the French Open final this year where the Serbian came back from two sets down to win.
“When he lost his Roland Garros final he was two sets to love up. Djokovic took a toilet break, came back and then it was a different match. He learned from that,” he commented.
“He didn’t learn that Djokovic broke his rhythm. He found out that Djokovic took time for himself in the locker room and was able to reset and come back different.’
“He learned that, tried it and it worked out for him. That’s why he continues to do it.”
As for a solution, Mouratoglou has called for the governing bodies to implement a time limit on the length of breaks taken during matches. A view that has been backed by various players in recent days, including both Dominic Thiem and Djokovic.
“I’ve always said that I think tennis is too long. I am not gonna say that a toilet break of six minutes is not too long. I think it should be three minutes, maybe five maximum. I have been complaining about these toilet breaks for a long time,” he said.
“I think there has to be a rule and I really wish the ATP, WTA and ITF set up a rule which means how long a toilet break should be and the problem is solved.”
Tsitsipas was knocked out in the third round of the US Open by Carlos Alcaraz.