Former ATP Tour star Marcos Baghdatis believes Stefanos Tsitsipas can get back to his best level if he starts making the “right decisions” as he offered his advice to the Greek star.
Baghdatis, who played from 2003 to 2019, is Cyprus’ greatest-ever tennis player and a sporting icon in his nation. He was a runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and reached a career-high ranking of world No 8.
Growing up, Tsitsipas idolised Baghdatis, and he emulated the Greek Cypriot with his run to the Australian Open final in 2023.
“It was great seeing him battle against the great players of his time,” Tsitsipas said of Baghdatis after reaching the 2023 Australian Open final.
“Marcos might not have won a Grand Slam during his career, but he was a great player and I consider him one of my role models.”
Tsitsipas has already cemented himself as the best Greek player of all time, having finished as a runner-up at two majors, peaked at third in the rankings and won the ATP Finals, as well three Masters 1000 titles.
The 27-year-old is currently ranked 34th in the world after winning 22 of his 40 matches in a disappointing 2025 season by the high standards he has set.
This year, Tsitsipas was troubled by a chronic back issue that forced him to retire at Wimbledon and restricted him to playing just two competitive matches after a second round US Open exit in August.
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In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked Baghdatis what Tsitsipas needs to do to overcome his 2025 struggles.
“Listen, it’s very hard from the outside when you don’t know what’s going [on] inside, to say what he needs to do. That’s for sure,” said Baghdatis, a four-time ATP titlist.
“I think it’s decision-making, mostly. And if he can go back to the level he was; top 10 in the world? Of course he can. I still believe he can.
“But of course, it’s all the decisions and the things that you need to do to get there that are important.
“So, it depends on a lot of decisions that he will take in the next few weeks, months. But I think if he takes the right decisions… which, it’s very difficult to say which one.
“[What] I would suggest from my experience as an ex-professional tennis player, maybe, is to get back to the basics. Start from scratch. Start from zero again and accept where you are right now and build up on that.
“And not to think that… when you are top 10 and then you fall down, you always want to feel the same that you felt when you were there or when you played that match, but it’s not possible to feel the same.
“So you need to accept that and start from scratch and go from zero. Go from the basics and start all over again. And acceptance — I think it’s the key to accept where you are right now and to take it one step at a time.”
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