(Reuters) -Stefanos Tsitsipas has ended his collaboration with coach Goran Ivanisevic after less than two months, the former world number three said.
“Working with Goran Ivanisevic was brief but an intense experience and a truly valuable chapter in my journey,” Tsitsipas posted on his Instagram story on Wednesday.
Tsitsipas, ranked 29th, appointed Ivanisevic as his coach in May after a string of disappointing results at the Grand Slams.
The 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open runner-up was forced to retire from his Wimbledon first-round match in June while trailing 6-3 6-2 to French qualifier Valentin Royer due to a back injury.
Following Tsitsipas’ opening round exit at Wimbledon, Ivanisevic gave a scathing assessment of the 26-year-old Greek, saying he has “never seen a more unprepared player” in his life. Tsitsipas has made one quarter-final in his last nine Grand Slam tournaments.
Tsitsipas expressed thanks “for the time, effort and energy he dedicated to me and my team”.
“As we are now following our separate ways, I have only respect for Goran — not just for what he’s achieved in tennis, but also for who he is as a person. I wish him nothing but the very best moving forward.”
Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon as a player in 2001, helped Novak Djokovic claim nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles before leaving his team in March last year. He then had a short stint with Kazakh world number 12 Elena Rybakina this season.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa; Editing by William Mallard)
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