Goran Ivanisevic To Coach Stefanos Tsitsipas

Goran Ivanisevic’s partnership with Elena Rybakina ended shortly, and people were speculating about Ivanisevic’s next partnership. According to Gazzetta, the Croatian is set to coach Stefanos Tsitsipas after the end of this clay season, specifically after the French Open. This could turn out to be one of the best decisions of Tsitsipas’ career. He is a player who values listening and learning from different perspectives.

Ivanisevic is a proven great coach who brings a mix of technical expertise, mental toughness, and big-match experience to the table. As a former Wimbledon champion (2001) and a player known for his powerful serve and aggressive style, he’s carved out a reputation for elevating players’ games.

A Great Partnership for both

I think both Tsitsipas and Ivanisevic needed a good partnership, which seems like a good fit to start with. They are also both from the Balkans, which should also be a good cultural fit. I like that Tsitsipas is trying to change things up. He changed his racquet this season, and it proved to be fruitful, and now, bringing in a proven coach, it seems he has understood that things needed to change for him to find his spark again and improve his game.

Ivanisevic has made some comments on and off over the years about Tsitsipas, and it has always sounded like he is very positive about his potential and believes in him. This is what Ivanisevic said in 2019, after Tsitsipas’ loss to Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round at the French Open:

“He has a quality that just a few have, he is someone who will make big results. Anyways, he is No. 6 at 20 years, and he can go even higher. He is my favourite and he will be world No.1, I think. He plays with his heart like all the Greek guys. He is so passionate, it’s incredible! He is not afraid to go to the net, he has no fear of attacking, amazing.

The only thing I do not like is his serve. He has a strange serve. He needs to improve it because he would struggle otherwise. Against Stan Wawrinka, he was broken many times. But he is tall and with a better technique, he will serve better. I think he will win many Grand Slam titles.”

I imagine Ivanisevic has recalibrated his expectations over the past six years. But it’s still a big positive that he was drawn to Tsitsipas’ style of play and saw so much potential in his game.

Wimbledon and the US Open are easily Tsitsipas’ worst Grand Slams as he has not managed to make an impact there, even after all this time. Ivanisevic can provide some great inputs to help the Greek player. Tsitsipas’ serve is solid but lacks the dominance needed to win easy points consistently. Ivanisevic, one of the greatest servers in tennis history, has a knack for refining this weapon. He improved Novak Djokovic’s serve precision and Marin Cilic’s power, which could translate to Tsitsipas gaining more free points, especially on faster surfaces like grass.