LONDON — On a bench at Wimbledon sits Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001
champion and now a seasoned coach. With Ivaniesevic, an entertaining
interview is always guaranteed.

The Croatian recently began working with Stefanos Tsitsipas, a player he
had long admired even before their partnership began. He’s brutally
honest about Tsitsipas’ current struggles but remains convinced the
Greek belongs in the world’s top 10.

“Stefanos needs to sort things out off the court”, says Ivanisevic
during the interview with CLAY.

“If he doesn’t, no one will be able to help him”, he adds before leaving a strong statement: “Physically he is a disaster”.

– Tsitsipas didn’t have the best Wimbledon, but he did say something interesting — to paraphrase: I need Goran Ivanišević because he always tells me the truth directly. Is that true?

– I didn’t expect him to do well. He’s just not in form — mentally or physically. His situation is clear: if he changes certain things on the
court, and above all off the court, he’ll be fine. He’s too good a
player not to be in the top 10. But if he doesn’t manage to change those things, then he doesn’t have a chance.

– What are the chances he’ll actually make those changes?

– That’s a good question, and I don’t have an answer. I can guarantee things on the court, the technical stuff he has to change and accept.
But off the court — that’s something he has to tackle himself, one thing
at a time. Like a baby climbing stairs — they don’t take two steps at
once, they go one step at a time. He has to start fixing those off-court
issues as soon as possible. When he does, he’ll be where he belongs. If
he doesn’t, and I’ve said this six times already, no one will be able to help him.

– You mentioned technical aspects. What does he most need to work on?

– His biggest issue is his backhand, especially the slice. Technically
he needs to adjust the grip a bit, and also work on his return. He
recently changed racquets too. On the serve, he should stop twisting his
body so much, maybe bring one foot closer to the other — but these are
things you address in the off-season, not before Wimbledon. And to be
honest, tennis is the least of his problems. The other stuff is much
bigger. He also needs to sort out his back problems.

https://www.claytenis.com/interviews/interview-ivanisevic-goran-tsitsipas/

Tsi was miffed after this interview and said Ivanisevic is a "dictator". Ivanisevic followed up:

"We talked yesterday, no hard feelings, we thanked each other. He
decided to give it another try with his father, and I truly believe, the
only person who can coach him is his father," reported Saša Ozmo on
social media regarding Ivanisevic's statements on HRT. "Stefanos played
his best tennis with his father, his father knows him best, this is a
family project. It is the best decision, I wish him all the best, he is
too good a player to be where he is."

Despite this peace treaty, Goran acknowledged that he continued to
uphold the truth until the last moment when he spoke with Stefanos:
"Yesterday, I told him again that nothing will change unless he fixes
some things in his head." These remarks were similar to the
controversial ones, something that the Croatian coach also wanted to
clarify.

"Nothing more can be said, that's how this generation is"

"Everything was exaggerated, I didn't insult him... I told him all that,
not behind his back. Now it seems that nothing more can be said. I said
it sincerely, to get a reaction. That's how this generation is.
Unfortunately, that's how it is, everyone sees it," Goran said,
highlighting Tsitsipas' reaction.

"He also feels it and knows it. If you are not mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared, especially mentally, to play for hours against the
best, you have no chance of playing tennis. He wasn't mentally prepared
to play at Wimbledon. I hope he finds his way. I wish him all the best,
we know the results he has achieved, he hasn't forgotten how to play
tennis."

https://www.puntodebreak.com/en/2025/07/25/ivanisevic-responds-to-tsitsipas-the-only-one-who-can-train-him-is-his-father

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