Stefanos Tsitsipas is set to make his return to competitive tennis at the Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto this Wednesday, facing Australian Chris O'Connell in the second round. The Greek player hasn't competed since withdrawing from Wimbledon due to injury - the same tournament that marked the end of his brief coaching relationship with Goran Ivanisevic.
"It's difficult to work with dictators who speak badly about you and aren't close to me or my environment. I just want to build a team that's like family, people I can count on as friends when my career ends," Tsitsipas stated during a charity event in Greece.
The harsh words came in response to Ivanisevic's scathing assessment of the Greek player. The Croatian coach didn't hold back when discussing their failed partnership.
"He wants to improve, but doesn't do anything about it. It's all 'I want, I want,' but I don't see any progress. I was shocked - I've never seen a tennis player so poorly prepared in my life. With my knee, I'm three times better prepared than him," Ivanisevic told "Sport Klub".
Interestingly, the drama didn't end there. Patrick Mouratoglou recently entered the fray, claiming Ivanisevic made a serious mistake by publicly criticizing Tsitsipas - an intervention that apparently didn't sit well with the Croatian.
"If he has a problem with me, he should call me. I'm not going around saying what I think about him. I'd prefer not to say what I think about him," Ivanisevic responded in an interview with former tennis player Anna Chakvetadze.
The coaching saga has now stretched on longer than their actual working relationship. By the way, Tsitsipas and Ivanisevic only collaborated for a few weeks before the Wimbledon fallout.
As the Greek star prepares for his comeback in Toronto, one has to wonder: will this public dispute affect his performance on court? The tennis world watches with interest as this soap opera continues to unfold, leaving none of the involved parties looking particularly professional.
