Goran Ivanisevic reveals when he realised his partnership with Stefanos Tsitsipas wouldn’t last
Stefanos Tsitsipas had a tough time in 2025. He started the year ranked 11th in the world but finished outside the top 30, dropping to 36th after a string of disappointing results.
Photo by Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images Stefanos Tsitsipas had a tough time in 2025. He started the year ranked 11th in the world but finished outside the top 30, dropping to 36th after a string of disappointing results. He did manage to win a title at the Dubai Tennis Championships, but early exits at major tournaments, including Grand Slams, overshadowed that achievement.
In May, looking for a change, Tsitsipas brought in Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic’s former coach. But less than two months later, he decided to split with Ivanisevic and bring his father, Apostolos, back into his camp. Speaking after his second-round win over Jack Draper at Roland Garros in May last year Tomas Machac gave his thoughts on Stefanos Tsitsipas’ then-new coaching setup.
The Czech was part of one of those early exits for the Greek star last season and spoke about how a player’s mentality plays a huge part in getting wins on court. Photo by Noushad Variyattiyakkal/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Tomas Machac reaches the French Open third round for the first time ever Tomas Machac hit another milestone at Roland Garros by reaching the third round for the first time ever after beating Jack Draper 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(1), 3-6, 6-1 last season. This also marked his second-ever match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at that point, who he’d beaten before back in Indian Wells earlier this year by an even more dominant scoreline than this one.
Following this latest match-up between them both, though, he spoke about how that kind of win could shape him up to start making more noise on tour now: This time around, their match is set for the third round again, where it should be another entertaining contest between two players hoping for better things this year compared to their runs from last season. Ivanisevic shares candid thoughts on his brief stint with Tsitsipas Speaking to Sportklub about when he realised the partnership wouldn’t work, Ivanisevic was clear: “I knew after the second day of training. “When he came to Zagreb to try rackets, I understood that it wouldn’t work out.