Stefanos Tsitsipas withdraws from Wimbledon warm-up in Halle

Greek player had surrendering a two-set lead in his defeat to Novak Djokovic in French Open final

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas poses with the runner-up trophy after losing the French Open final against Serbia's Novak Djokovic. Reuters

Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday withdrew from this week's Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle with exhaustion, a day after losing the men's French Open final.

Tsitsipas, the first Greek player to reach a Grand Slam final, lost a hard fought final at Roland Garros to Novak Djokovic 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, I cannot play in Halle because of the exhaustion after the last two tournament weeks in Paris and yesterday's five-set final," the 22-year-old was quoted as saying by AFP.

It was a tough day for the Greek player on and off the court. In an emotional post on social media, the 22-year-old revealed he had learnt of the death of his paternal grandmother just minutes before the French Open final.

"Five minutes before entering the court my very beloved grandmother lost her battle for life," Tsitsipas wrote on Instagram. "A wise woman whose faith in life, and willingness to give and provide can't be compared to any other human being that I have ever met.

"It's important to have more people like her in this world. Because people like her make you come alive. They make you dream."

His efforts in the French Open pushed Tsitsipas up one place to fourth in the ATP rankings.

Swiss great Roger Federer is ranked fifth in Halle and will start his grass court season on Monday when he faces qualifier Ilya Ivashka of Belarus.