By
Stefanos Tsitsipas has clapped back at his coach Goran Ivanisevic after being heavily criticised at Wimbledon.
Ivanisevic, who was hired by Tsitsipas at the start of the grass-court season, did not hold back with his comments about the Greek star during Wimbledon - where he retired due to injury in his opening round match.
"It's simple and it's not easy," the Croatian told Sport Klub. "I've talked to him many times. If he solves some things outside of tennis, then he has a chance and he'll return to where he belongs, because he's too good a player to be out of the top 10.
"He wants to, but he doesn't do anything. All, '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 more prepared than him. This is really bad."
In an interview with Greek outlet SDNA, Tsitsipas appeared to fire back at Ivanisevic as he declared it is "very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively" in his team.
"When I work with the right people, with people that I choose and make me feel comfortable, there is a mood," said the world No 29.
"Comfortable doesn't mean that I stop training whenever I want or that I tell you how much exercise I want to do, they are the ones who have a common line, who know how hard we work and what we want to achieve through the work we put in, but also maintain a friendly atmosphere throughout it all.
"It is very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively and you don't feel like they are close to you like family.
"Being able to build a family out of this, people who will not only work with you in the tennis part but will also be your friends after your career, is something that I really want to build.
"My trainer Fred [Lefevre], I plan to have for the rest of my life. He's not just a person who will be with me for the next 10 years, he's a member of my family."
Tsitsipas also expressed regret over the way he ended his coaching relationship with his father Apostolos last year.
"We discussed it, from my side I had to apologise because it was a big mistake on my part," the 26-year-old explained.
"We have found a new line of communication and a way to talk to each other, so that such things don't happen again and such tensions don't arise again. I love my father with all my heart and what he has done in recent years is truly exciting.
"He has helped me in my difficult moments, in my most successful and good moments, my family has always been there. I don't want to be separated from them.
"Tensions may arise again, in the sense that I may feel burdened again, but the relationship I have with my father I will not find anywhere else."
The two-time Grand Slam finalist also gave an update on the back injury that ended his Wimbledon campaign.
"I feel better," Tsitsipas said. "I believe that if I continue at this pace and continue with my workouts - because they are very important and keep me in shape, I put in 3-4 hours of work on a daily basis to get back in shape.
"If I continue this and do it with the right mindset on a daily basis, I believe I will get back to where I deserve to be."
