Things have gone from bad to worse for Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He was forced to retire from Wimbledon after losing the opening two sets of his first-round clash with France’s Valentin Royer.
The world No. 29 has now recorded just two wins in his last four Grand Slam appearances.
Furthermore, he has now parted company with his coach Goran Ivanisevic after less than two months together.
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The tournament was eventually won by controversial world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who has recently come in for some criticism from Australian star Nick Kyrgios following the decision to re-hire his former coach Umberto Ferrara, who he had previously dropped in the wake of his doping scandal.
Ivanisevic, who has previously coached Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina, responded to the withdrawal with a scathing rant in which he accused Tsitsipas of being the most unprepared player he has ever seen in the sport.
“It's simple and it's not simple,” he told Sport Klub:
“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.
“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.”
Tsitsipas has previously been the world No.3, a reflection of how far he has fallen in recent years.
The 26-year-old has just one win to his name during the grass court season, a hard-fought victory over Luciano Darderi in the Round of 32 of The Halle Open.
Tsitsipas insists that while his time with Ivanisevic was intense, it was also incredibly valuable.
“Working with Goran Ivanisevic was brief but an intense experience and a truly valuable chapter in my journey,” read a post on his social media.
“I'm thankful for the time, effort and energy he dedicated to me and my team.
“As we are now following our separate ways, I have only respect for Goran — not just for what he's achieved in tennis, but also for who he is as a person. I wish him nothing but the very best moving forward.”
Topics: Wimbledon, Tennis, Novak Djokovic
Jonathan Bray