Stefanos Tsitsipas makes surprise coaching move as he hires Novak Djokovic’s former mentor – report
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been searching for some consistency in the last 12 months and now he looks set to make a coaching move that could offer him a chance to reset his story.
A report in Greek publication Gazzetta claims former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic will join the Tsitsipas team after the French Open, in what would be a bold move by the three-time Monte Carlo Masters champion.
Croatian Ivanisevic worked with Novak Djokovic during a prolific period of success for the Serbian legend, while he had a very brief spell working with Elena Rybakina on the WTA Tour at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Now the report in Tsitsipas’ home country reveals Ivanisevic will be back with a top ATP Tour player in a few weeks, with the chance to work with the former world No 3 a tempting opportunity for the 2001 Wimbledon champion.
Tsistipas enjoyed a fine win at the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai in February, but he has struggled badly over the last 12 months and may face a big drop in the ATP Rankings if he fails to defend his Monte Carlo Masters title this week.
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“I wasn’t doing great lately, and the last few months weren’t amazing for me,” reflected Tsistipas as he spoke to the media in Miami last month.
“I didn’t have any big results or victories that I could say that I’m headed towards a good direction with my game. So I feel like that caption sort of was a summary of the last few months.
“I feel like some of my opponents that I got to play were overpowering me and doing things much better than me when it came to playing bigger tennis. My entire career I’ve been known to be able to play big tennis but it wasn’t big enough, and I felt like I had to do something about it.
“I was working very well with Dimitris [Chatzinikolaou], my coach, the last few months. I saw big improvement in how I approached my matches but also my work ethic in and out on kind of daily tennis sessions. I felt like there were things that little by little I started to improve and kind of perfect.
“It’s a very honest relationship. There are no filters with Dimitris. I feel like we talk to each other openly and freely, and we can communicate excellently, and I think that’s what makes a good team when I can just communicate with him in the best possible ways.
“I can just talk to him and be precise about how I feel and what I can improve, things that we can consider for the future.
“I feel like he’s very open-minded, like he listens. I have had a few coaches that, you know, I don’t feel like they are as open-minded and adjusting as fast.
“But what makes our relationship stand out is how we both feed each other feedback, meaning that I don’t pretend that I know everything, and Dimitris is humble enough to think that he’s not perfect either.
“I think that adds a lot to our relationship and makes us sort of work it out together.
“With a few more changes that I added to my game I felt like it added a lot of confidence stepping out onto the tennis court.”
It is unclear whether Chatzinikolaou will remain in the Tsitsipas camp if Ivanisevic comes in, with the Greek star set to embark on a new chapter of his career after many years working in what has often been a fiery relationship with his father Apostolos as his coach.
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