Stefanos Tsitsipas experiencing pain following off-season elbow surgery but still aims to play Australian Open

Our No. 4 ATP Player of the Year in 2021: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas is racing to be fully fit for the Australian Open following a shaky return to competition this week at the ATP Cup.

The 23-year-old fell in three sets to Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, his first singles encounter since undergoing elbow surgery during the off-season. He told press he was unsure about the way his elbow would react, noting he had "a little" pain following his lengthy singles encounter and "a lot" following his doubles contest against Poland at the start of the competition.

The first major of the year starts in two weeks in Melbourne. Last year, Tsitsipas rallied from two sets down to topple Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

"That is enough, I believe," said the Greek. "But I haven't had [this kind of injury] before, so I don't know."

While saying that if he took "the right precautions and follow what my doctor says" he could be performing at 100 percent at the Australian Open," Tsitsipas noted he is still having problems serving because of the elbow.

"I have done lots of things in a couple of weeks to try and protect it as much as I can and get it to 100 percent again," he said. "I hit balls I was scared to hit two weeks ago.

"It gets better and better every single day almost. We have plenty of time before the Australian Open begins."

Tsitsipas is in doubt to lead Greece as it plays Georgia in its final ATP Cup tie, with its defeat to Argentina eliminating the team from semifinal contention.