“It hit him a little bit”: Goran Ivanisevic says Stefanos Tsitsipas took his Wimbledon critique personally

Goran Ivanisevic has opened up about the impact of his previous comments regarding Stefanos Tsitsipas following the latter's disappointing performance at Wimbledon. Tsitsipas was once regarded as one of the players who would take the reign from the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal once they finish their respective careers.

Tsitsipas cemented his pedigree amongst one of the best players in the world by playing two Grand Slam finals, in 2021 at the Australian Open and in 2023 at the Roland Garros. On both occasions, he ended up on the losing side. Things, however, have not been great for the former world number three, who is going through a lean patch.

For the first time in seven years, Tsitsipas has failed to get past the second round of any of the first three Grand Slams for the first time since 2018. His most recent outing was at Wimbledon, where he was forced to retire because of a back injury during the first-round contest against France’s Valentin Royer. It was Tsitsipas' 12th defeat in just 31 matches this year, and as a result, he is now ranked outside the top 25 in the ATP rankings. In recent years, Tsitsipas has altered his coaching staff, hiring the former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as his new coach.

That move did not work instantly, which left Ivanisevic furious. He expressed his feelings after the Wimbledon result while speaking to Serbian media outlet Sport Klub. Ivanisevic, at the time, was of the opinion that Tsitsipas was not doing enough to succeed at the highest level.

“It’s both simple and not simple,” said Ivanisevic. “I’ve spoken to him several times. If he resolves certain off-court issues, he’ll have a chance to return to where he belongs, because he’s too good to be outside the top 10. He says he wants to (return to the top level), but he’s not doing anything. It’s always "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 fitter than him. It’s really bad.”

Those comments did not go down well with some people within the tennis community who questioned the motivation behind making such remarks about your players. Naomi Osaka’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was one of those who criticised Ivanisevic in a post on his official Instagram account.

"If Goran accepts the job, it's probably because he's aware that Stefanos is not doing things right or that changes are needed,” he said in the video. “Stefanos goes through a difficult time. The results are not there, and pointing fingers does not help. Above all, this is not coaching because coaching is not about judging but quite the opposite. It's about understanding behaviors and trying to help the person by being there in the same boat. I feel like Goran is ashamed of the results and wants to distance himself from Stefanos, blaming the player alone. That's the opposite of how I understand coaching.”

Ivanisevic has now spoken to Croatian tabloid Gol, where he talked about the impact of his previous quotes about Tsitsipas. Ivanisevic admitted that his words ‘hit’ Tsitsipas but also highlighted that the process of getting back to be ranked amongst the best in the world will take time.

"Well, it hit him a little bit because every tennis player, an athlete, when their ego gets a little worked up, they don't like that criticism,” said Ivanisevic. “I mean, I told him anyway, tennis is an individual sport. To play on the court, you have to be physically and mentally ready. He wasn't mentally or physically ready at Wimbledon. Back problems, a million problems. So it's a long way, there's no magic wand, there's no magic trick, you have to work.”