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.

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.

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. 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.

“I had similar problems myself when I dropped to 128th place in the rankings. In any case, everything is fine.

“We met in Doha and greeted each other normally. The issue was exaggerated; he said some things that we won’t delve into, but everything is in order and we move forward.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ time with Goran Ivanisevic: Every match result

Tsitsipas brought in Ivanisevic after losing in the second round of the 2025 French Open to Matteo Gigante.

His first match with the Croatian coach resulted in a win over Luciano Darderi at the Halle Open.

However, Tsitsipas then lost his next match to American Alex Michelsen in straight sets.

Together, they also went to Wimbledon, but Tsitsipas had to retire from his opening match against Valentin Royer after falling two sets behind.

The partnership ended shortly after, and since then, Tsitsipas has dropped even further down the rankings. He is currently ranked 51st in the world at age 27.

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