Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has seemingly referred to Novak Djokovic as a “shampoo bottle” in a bizarre tweet following Serbia’s Davis Cup defeat. The World No. 6 posted on social media moments after the current US Open champion was defeated by Jannik Sinner which has left fans scratching their heads in confusion.
Djokovic and Serbia were knocked out of the Davis Cup following two defeats to their Italian opponents in Malaga, Spain. The tie between the two nations saw Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-1 in the opening game.
Djokovic and Sinner took to the court next to play their third game in just 12 days – having won one match each in the lead-up at the ATP Finals in Turin. The latest tie ended in a 6-2 2-6 7-5 win for Sinner, drawing Italy back level with Serbia heading into the doubles tie.
Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego would go on to claim a 6-3 6-4 straight sets victory over Djokovic and Kecmanovic in the doubles to secure a Davis Cup final spot against Australia – seeing Serbia dumped out of the competition.
While fan’s attention was focused on an uncharacteristic defeat for Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas instead chose to post a cryptic tweet in the moments following the result
The shower is where ideas are born, problems are solved, and shampoo bottles are defeated,” the Greek posted on X. The tweet was instantly met with confusion by his 417,000 followers on the social media platform.
“How do you defeat a shampoo bottle?” one fan asked, with another simply adding: “Bro what?” and: “Wtf is this nonsense?
Others were quick to spot the link between the timing of his post and Djokovic’s defeat: “Meanwhile, amid scenes as Italy defeat Serbia to reach the Davis Cup final
Despite his bizarre post, Tsitsipas has previously spoken highly of Djokovic having faced the Serbian in the Australian Open Grand Slam final this season. The duo went head-to-head in January which saw the 24-time Grand Slam winner claim the win.
The victory was Djokovic’s first of seven titles he would win this year, which included further Grand Slam wins at the French Open and the US Open. The only blemish on his record came in his Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.
Following the pair’s Australian Open tie, Tsitsipas hailed his opponent, saying: “Novak, I don’t know what to say. It speaks for itself, what you have achieved so far. It is all in the numbers.
“Our tennis upbringing was very similar. I admire what you have done for our sport, and I think you make me a better player. I have worked my whole life to play these kinds of matches.
“Novak is the greatest to have ever held a tennis racquet. I would like to thank you for pushing our sport so far. It deserves someone like you, pushing everyone involved to the max.”
Italy will play Australia in the Davis Cup final on Sunday November 26
