Tsitsipas claps back at Ivanišević comments: 'I was really hurt'

(Getty/Tim Clayton)

Just days after former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević defended his extraordinary comments about Stefanos Tsitsipas' professionalism, the Greek star has told his side of the story.

Ivanišević, who famously coached Novak Djokovic to 12 Grand Slam titles, joined Tsitsipas' team as coach before the grass court season last year.

That period was a disaster for Tsitsipas, retiring after two sets in his first round match at Wimbledon because of a chronic back issue.

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But the relationship ended in July, after Ivanišević unleashed on Tsitsipas while he was still coaching him.

"He wants, but he doesn't do anything. All 'I want, I want', but I don't see that progress. I was shocked. I have never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I am three times more fit than him. This is really bad," Ivanišević told Sportklub.

"It's simple and it's not simple. I've talked to him a lot of times. If he solves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance, and he'll return to where he belongs, because he's too good a player to be out of the top-10."

In the past week, he doubled down on his comments.

"I knew after the second day of training [that it would not succeed]. When he came to Zagreb to try rackets, I understood that it wouldn't work out," he told Sport Klub.

"In the end, I didn't say anything bad; everything I stated was true and proved to be so. After Wimbledon, I advised him to take four months off because it wasn't just a physical issue but also mental.

"He remains a phenomenal player, he was and still is, but those are just details. In today's tennis, you can't compete without being mentally prepared."

Tsitsipas, a two-time major finalist, recently responded to comments about how his ex-coach viewed him as the "most poorly prepared player" he had ever seen, and that Ivanišević was in three times better shape than him.

"I didn't see any point in it. If it was a way of him pushing me into working harder and getting my sh*t together, it was definitely not the right tactic. I was really hurt," the Greek star told The Times.

"I never expected that a coach could do that to me, and the worst thing is what he said was not true. I was not fit because I had been injured. I hadn't been practicing properly for over two weeks. It was like he kicked me when I was already down."

The 27-year-old enters the Monte-Carlo Masters as a three-time champion, but will be unseeded when he faces 16th seed Francisco Cerúndolo in the first round.

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