Tentative Tsitsipas slams former coach Goran

Fading former top 10 regular Stefanos Tsitsipas has lashed out at one-time coach Goran Ivanisevic, accusing the former Wimbledon winner of unfair criticism during their brief collaboration last season.

Greek Tsitsipas once stood among the big beasts of the ATP, achieving a top ranking of this in the world,  with Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Melbourne.

But with his ranking now at 49th, the 27-year-old remains in a struggle with his game and blames most of his troubles on a lingering back injury.

Croat Ivanisevic, 54, had a brief spell with Tsitsipas last summer as the player attempted to break away from his longtime coach, his father Apostolos.

But family ties proved to be too strong, with Ivanisevic given the elbow after a Wimbledon first-round retirement.

Tsitsipas has complained of unfair criticism from his one-time mentor after Ivanisevic – who formerly coached Novak Djokovic – let loose on the player’s work ethic.

“He has to find a solution for his back issue. I was shocked. I’ve never seen such a poorly prepared player in my life,” Ivanisevic told Croat outlet SportKlub recalling the incident.

“Me, at my age and with this bad knee, I’m three times in better shape than him,” the former world No. 2 added.  “In the end, I didn’t say anything bad. Everything I said was true and proved to be so.”

While Ivanisevic has moved on to work with French youngster Arthur Fils, Tsitsipas continues his comeback struggle.

“I didn’t see any point in it. If it was a way of him pushing me into working harder and getting my s*** together, it was definitely not the right tactic.

“I was really hurt,” he told London’s Times.