Stefanos Tsitsipas slams dad Apostolos after shock Montreal exit

Oli Dickson Jefford 08 Aug 2024 8:11 PM

Stefanos Tsitsipas during his Canadian Open exit

Stefanos Tsitsipas slammed his dad after his Canadian Open exit.

Stefanos Tsitsipas sensationally claimed his dad Apostolos “hasn’t been very smart or good” at handling certain situations after a shock Canadian Open defeat.

Greek star Tsitsipas slumped to an early exit at the Masters 1000 event in Montreal, beaten 6-4, 6-4 by world No 576 Kei Nishikori in the biggest surprise of the tournament so far.

It continues a rough run of form for the world No 11, who blew a 4-0 second-set lead against Novak Djokovic at the Olympics last week and was beaten in round two of Wimbledon early last month.

During Thursday’s match, the 25-year-old received a code violation after appearing to direct a strong message to Apostolos – who has coached his son throughout his career.

And in his press conference afterwards, Tsitsipas expressed concern about his forehand – and said he was “really disappointed” in his dad for failing to take on his feedback.

He said: “I’ve already been complaining to my coach about it for the last four-five days. That was also the reason why I had a confrontation with him during the match, I’m not used to it.

“For me, an ATP Master 1000 match is an important match. I need and I deserve a coach that listens to me and hears my feedback as a player.

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“My father hasn’t been very smart or very good at handling those situations, it’s not the first time he has done that. I’m really disappointed at him.

“I really don’t know right now if I’d consider any changes, but I’m really disappointed. The most important thing for a player is to have direct and good feedback from a coach. The coach is not the one holding a racket. The player is the one trying to execute a game plan.

“It’s a collaborative work that you put in together. It has to be reciprocal in order for me to try to develop my tennis. It’s something I don’t want to get stuck at that.”

The likes of Patrick Mouratoglou and Mark Philippoussis have previously worked with the Greek on a part-time or temporary basis, though he has never had a long-term coach outside of Apostolos.

This surprise incident will put their relationship under scrutiny, and all eyes will be on if and when the world No 11 brings a new figure into his coaching box.

Tsitsipas is next set to be in action at the Cincinnati Open, which starts next week.