World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas gave up his first ATP Cup match against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday in Sydney due to a problem with his right elbow, tournament organizers said. Tsitsipas was forced to retire in the second round of the Paris Masters and lost his opener to Andrey Rublev at the ATP Finals in November before retiring from the season-ending tournament due to his injury. The 23-year-old Greek, who posted pictures of himself on a hospital bed during the offseason, wore an ice pack on his right arm in Sydney ahead of his match against world number nine Pole Hurkacz. He was replaced by Aristotelis Thanos. But Tsitsipas played down fears that this issue would prevent him from playing in the Australian Open,which begins January 17th. "
Recovery from my elbow surgery in November is on track for Melbourne and today was a precautionary step to ensure I get to Melbourne,
”Tsitsipas said.
