After getting publicly roasted by his mentor, Stefanos Tsitsipas announced that he has parted ways with coach Goran Ivanisevic.
The pair only started working together on a trial basis in April this year and Tsitsipas confirmed after his shock second-round exit from the French Open that he had officially appointed the 2001 Wimbledon winner – who previously worked with tennis great Novak Djokovic – on a full-time basis.
Following the announcement, the Greek stated: “I’m focusing more on the long process of it, the whole journey of working with him and my whole goal with that is to try and see improvements.
“I feel like that’s a part of an identity in a coach that is important, to not only coach me on how I can hit better forehands and backhands, but also coach me in in the way I should probably be thinking.”
Ivanisevic, meanwhile, felt there was a lot of hard work ahead as he believed Tsitispas had to up his game as he admitted: “Right now, I cannot say that he is in his best tennis and physical condition. He is a player who should be in the top five in the world, in terms of potential, results, and everything else.
“I am not Harry Potter, and I will not change everything overnight with a wand.”
Despite the move, the 26-year-old continued to struggle as he lost in the last 16 of the Halle Open and that was followed by a first-round retirement at Wimbledon due to a back injury.
Not long after his exit from the grass-court Grand Slam, the cracks started to appear as Ivanisevic again questioned Tsitispas commitment to tennis as he stated “I’ve never seen a more unprepared player in my life” while only last week he again criticised the player for not being “mentally or physically prepared at Wimbledon”.
The world No. 29 then issued a scathing rebuttal as he told Greek publication SDNA: “It is very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively and you don’t feel like they are close to you like family”.
Less than 24 hours after that interview was published, Tsitsipas confirmed his split with Ivanisevic.
“Working with Goran Ivanisevic was a brief but intense experience and a truly valuable chapter in my journey. I’m thankful for the time, effort, and energy he dedicated to me and my team,” he wrote in an Instagram Story.
“As we are now following our separate ways, I have only respect for Goran – not just for what he’s achieved in tennis, but also for who he is as a person. I wish him nothing but the very best moving forward.”
