"My father hasn't been smart…I'm disappointed" - Stefanos Tsitsipas thinks he deserves better coach than dad Apostolos after Canadian Open 2R loss
Stefanos Tsitsipas endured a shock exit at the 2024 Canadian Open, losing in his first match at the tournament. After the unexpected result, the Greek could not hold back while talking about his performance and gave damning feedback on the coaching style of his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was seeded eighth at the 2024 Canadian Open in Montreal and faced Kei Nishikori in the second round after a first-round bye. Nishikori, a former Canadian Open finalist (2016), rolled back the years to rediscover his prime form and caused a massive upset at the Masters 1000 tournament by beating Tsitsipas in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in just 79 minutes.
During the match, Tsitsipas got into an argument with his father and coach Apostolos and even asked him to leave his player's box during the first set. Stefanos Tsitsipas has worked with the likes of Patrick Mouratoglou and Mark Philippoussis in the past, but Apostolos has been the only permanent part of his coaching team.
In his post-match press conference, the Greek No. 1 revealed that he had struggled with his forehand in the lead-up to the Canadian Open and confronted Apostolos because he could not understand the problem. Tsitsipas expressed his disappointment at his father and his coaching style, saying he deserves a coach who pays attention to his "feedback."
"I've already been complaining to my coach about it (not being able to perform with his forehand) for the last 4/5 days. That was also the reason why I had a confrontation with him during the match, I'm not used to it," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.
"For me an ATP Master 1000 match is an important match. I need and I deserve a coach that listens to me and hears my feedback as a player. My father hasn't been very smart or very good at handling those situations, it's not the first time he has done that. I'm really disappointed at him," he continued.
Tsitsipas appeared to have conflicting thoughts about making any changes to his team as of now and stressed his need to have a better, more understanding coach who can help him execute his game plan better.
"I really don't know right now if I'd consider any changes, but I'm really disappointed. The most important thing for a player is to have direct and good feedback from a coach. The coach is not the one holding a racket. The player is the one trying to execute a game plan. It's a collaborative work that you put in together. It has to be reciprocal in order for me to try to develop my tennis. It's something I don't want to get stuck at that."
Stefanos Tsitsipas to play Western & Southern Open after Canadian Open exit
Stefanos Tsitsipas will play at the 2024 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, set to begin on August 13, after his second-round ouster from the Canadian Open. The Greek will be seeded 10th and is defending just 90 points after the third-round finish last year in Cincinnati.
This means the World No. 11 has a valuable chance to earn a chuck of ranking points and rise further in the ATP Ranking. Tsitsipas has struggled for form on the 2024 ATP Tour. Besides his triumph at the Monte Carlo Masters and runners-up finish in Barcelona, Tsitsipas has not produced any other notable result.
At Grand Slams, his best performance has been reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open. The 25-year-old came to Montreal after losing to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics.