Goran Ivanisevic makes ‘inflated ego’ comment after strongly criticising Stefanos Tsitsipas
Goran Ivanisevic has revealed his strong criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas after Wimbledon “affected” the Greek star.
Tsitsipas holds a 19-13 (59.4%) record in what has been a season of struggle by the lofty standards he set by qualifying for the ATP Finals in five straight years from 2019 to 2023.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist appointed Ivanisevic as his coach at the start of the grass-court season after a disappointing clay-court campaign.
The former world No 3, who is currently ranked 29th, retired due to a back injury when trailing Valentin Royer in his opening round match at Wimbledon.
After his painful Wimbledon exit, Tsitsipas suggested his tennis future could be in doubt if he does not find a solution to the back issue.
“I’ll definitely have to have my final answer on whether I want to do stuff or not in the next couple of months,” the 26-year-old said in his press conference.
“This is going to be hard, but if I see it going in that trajectory, there is no point at competing. If I’m not healthy, and I’ve talked about health so many times, if health is not there, then your whole tennis life becomes miserable.”
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Ivanisevic, a former coach of Novak Djokovic, expressed his feelings on Tsitsipas’ preparation in no uncertain terms after Wimbledon.
“It’s simple and it’s not easy,” the 2001 Wimbledon champion told Sport Klub. “I’ve talked to him many times. If he solves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance and he’ll return to where he belongs, because he’s too good a player to be out of the top 10.
“He wants to, but he doesn’t do anything. All, ‘I want, I want’, but I don’t see any progress. I was shocked, I’ve never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I’m three times more prepared than him. This is really bad.”
Ivanisevic has addressed how his blunt comments have affected Tsitsipas and doubled down on his message to his player.
“Well, it affected him a little because every tennis player, every athlete, when their ego gets a little inflated, doesn’t like criticism,” the Croatian told Gol.
“Anyway, I told him: tennis is an individual sport. To play on the court, you have to be physically and mentally prepared. He wasn’t mentally or physically prepared at Wimbledon.
“Back problems, a million problems. So it’s a long road, there’s no magic wand, no magic tricks, you have to work. He’s too good a player to be where he is.”
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