Stefanos Tsitsipas mindset questioned as Goran Ivanisevic shares early concerns from their short coaching partnership

Things did not go as expected when Goran Ivanisevic joined hands with Stefanos Tsitsipas last year. What looked like a strong partnership on paper ended quickly, and now Ivanisevic has opened up about what really went wrong. His latest comments have raised fresh concerns about Tsitsipas’ mindset during that phase.

Speaking in an interview with Sportklub, Ivanisevic said he felt early on that something was not right. He made it clear that the issue was not just about fitness or form. According to him, Tsitsipas was struggling mentally too, which made it hard for him to compete at the top level. The comments have come at a time when Tsitsipas is still trying to find consistency on court.

Goran Ivanisevic explains why Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled during their partnership

Ivanisevic started working with Tsitsipas around May last year. At that time, the Greek player was already dealing with poor results and fitness issues. Many believed Ivanisevic, who helped Novak Djokovic win multiple Grand Slams, could help him bounce back.

But things did not improve. After Tsitsipas retired early at Wimbledon, Ivanisevic openly shared his concerns. Looking back now, he said he had noticed the problem almost immediately.

He said, “Well, I knew that after the second day of our training. When he came to Zagreb to try out the rackets, I knew that none of that would happen. I mean, at the end of the day, I didn’t say anything bad. Everything I said was true and it came true. I told him nicely after Wimbledon to take four months off because it’s not just physical unpreparedness, but mental unpreparedness as well.”

Despite the criticism, Ivanisevic also made it clear that he still respects Tsitsipas as a player. He said the Greek has the talent but needs to be mentally strong in today’s game.

He added, “He is still a phenomenal tennis player, he was and still is, but those are the little things. In today’s tennis, you can’t play if you’re not mentally prepared. I had those problems as a tennis player too, when I fell to 128th place, I was the best benchmark.”

The two have since moved on. Ivanisevic is now working with young player Arthur Fils, while Tsitsipas has brought back his father Apostolos as his coach. According to Ivanisevic, there is no bad blood between them.

He said, “But everything is ok, we saw each other in Doha now and we said goodbye normally. Everything got blown up about it, he said some things now that we won’t go into detail about, but everything is ok, let’s move on.”

Tsitsipas’ recent loss at the Miami Open, where he went down 0-6, 1-6 to Fils, has only added more pressure as he looks to rebuild his form.




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