Stefanos Tsitsipas' dad under fire over for his actions during the Australian Open final

People are criticising Stefanos Tsitsipas' father for not standing up during the trophy ceremony at the Australian Open.

The Greek fan favourite fell agonisingly short of winning his first Grand Slam title, losing out in straight sets to arguably one of the greatest tennis players of of all-time in Novak Djokovic.

But while Tsitsipas was praised for his classy runner-up speech during his on-court interview, his father has been slammed for his actions during it.

It has become tradition for everyone inside the arena to stand up while the athletes are interviewed after the match.

But, for whatever reason, Tsitsipas' father and coach Apostolos remained seated during both his son's and Djokovic's speeches.

As for the rest of the world number four's box, they stood up around Apostolos.

This didn't go down well with viewers.

Yasmin Syed tweeted: "In my personal opinion it's really really not nice that Tsitsipas' dad isn't standing up or clapping during his son's speech and this overall trophy ceremony. Show some respect."

While Claire Connelly added: "Christ. Djokovic is complimenting his family and even still, he can’t bring himself to stand. It’s not on. It’s just not tennis."

In contrast, fans heaped praise on Stefanos for his gracious-in-defeat comments about his opponent, where he described Djokovic as "the greatest that has ever held a tennis racquet."

"It speaks for yourself what you have achieved so far," Tsitsipas said.

"It's all in the numbers. Congratulations. Not only to yourself but to having, like, such supportive family.

"You know, I think it's very similar the way we grew up around tennis, so it's been an unbelievable journey for you so I admire what you have done for our sport. I think you make me a better player when I am on the court, so thank you.

"I've had the privilege to play a lot of difficult, high- intensity matches but I would like to say one more time Novak brings the best out in me they've been working my whole life for. He's the one of the greatest in our sport and I think - he's the greatest that has ever held a tennis racquet for sure.

"I haven't done this but I'd like to thank you for pushing our sport so far. I think it deserves a player like you that pushes everyone, every single player, every single individual that's involved in the sport to the max."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@_ClaireConnelly

Topics: Australia, Australian Open, Tennis

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry