'This is not coaching': Patrick Mouratoglou slams Goran Ivanisevic for harsh criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas

Famous tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has criticised Goran Ivanisevic for his comments about Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 26-year-old is going through a lean patch as he failed to get past the second round of any of the first three Grand Slams for the first time since 2018.

Tsitsipas’ most recent outing was at Wimbledon, where he was forced to retire because of a back injury during the first-round contest against France’s Valentin Royer. It was Tsitsipas' 12th defeat in just 31 matches this year, and now he is ranked outside the top-25 in the ATP rankings. In the recent past, Tsitsipas altered his coaching staff and hired the former Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic as his new coach.

Following his early exit from Wimbledon, Ivanisevic criticised Tsitsipas for his attitude towards the sport. “It’s both simple and not simple,” said Ivanisevic while speaking to Serbian media outlet Sport Klub. “I’ve spoken to him several times. If he resolves certain off-court issues, he’ll have a chance to return to where he belongs, because he’s too good to be outside the top 10. He says he wants to (return to the top level), but he’s not doing anything. It’s always "I want, I want," but I don’t see any progress. I was shocked; I’ve never seen a more unprepared player in my life. With this knee, I’m three times fitter than him. It’s really bad.”

Now, Mouratoglou has hit back at Ivanisevic for his comments regarding Tsitsipas. Mouratoglou, in a video on his Instagram account, asked Ivanisevic not to ‘throw’ the player to the ‘wolves’. Mouratoglou, who is currently coaching former women’s world number one Naomi Osaka, stated that for him, coaching is all about ‘building’ trust with the player.

"My concept of coaching has nothing to do with that suggested by Goran Ivanisevic,” said Mouratoglou. “If Goran accepts the job, it's probably because he's aware that Stefanos is not doing things right or that changes are needed. Stefanos goes through a difficult time. The results are not there, and pointing fingers does not help. Above all, this is not coaching because coaching is not about judging but quite the opposite. It's about understanding behaviors and trying to help the person by being there in the same boat. I feel like Goran is ashamed of the results and wants to distance himself from Stefanos, blaming the player alone. That's the opposite of how I understand coaching. You can discuss your player publicly, but not by throwing him to the wolves. I'm not familiar with the details, but I would be very surprised if they could work together effectively after Goran's comments. You have to build trust with your player, and this is not the way.”