Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic says Stefanos Tsitsipas has “lost the edge” of a top player on tour

Stefanos Tsitsipas is set to open his grass-court campaign at the Terra Wortmann Open against Luciano Darderi.

Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic says Stefanos Tsitsipas has “lost the edge” of a top player on tour

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Goran Ivanisevic (via X/The Tennis Letter/BBC)

Stefanos Tsitsipas has struggled on the court this season and that has seen him drop out of the top 20. Following the poor run, the Greek star has added Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic to his coaching team as he aims to turn things around. But, Ivanisevic believes that the two-time Grand Slam finalist has lost his edge as a top player.

Ivanisevic has a wealth of experience as a player and a coach. He famously won the 2001 Wimbledon Championship as a wild card after struggles with form and fitness that led him to drop down to No.125 in the ATP rankings. He also reached the finals of the championship on three occasions in his career.

As a coach, he first became famous after helping Marin Cilic win his first and only Grand Slam at the 2014 US Open. After that, he had a spell with Djokovic, helping the Serbian win three Wimbledon Championships. The former World No.2 now hopes to help Tsitsipas back to the sport’s elite with his experience.

However, it will be a bit difficult for the Croatian coach as a 12-time ATP champion is having a hard time on the court. The last time he lifted a trophy was in February at the Dubai Championships. Since then, he has been experiencing a very rough patch in his career. His last match was against Matteo Gigante in the second round of the Roland Garros, losing in four sets.

He’s set to play at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle and was seen training with Tomas Martin Etcheverry ahead of the start of the tournament on Monday (June 16). Ahead of his opening match, Ivanisevic revealed during an interview with ATP that the Greek star has lost his edge as a top player. He added that he now has to find it back:

He is for me a Top 10 player any day. At the moment he lost that edge a little bit. A lot of things happened and now he has to find it back. I’m not a magician who can make it work after one week. It’s a long process, but he’s a great player. He was two times in Grand Slam finals and had so many great victories, so I’m not worried that it’s not going to come back.

Tsitsipas will face Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Terra Wortmann Open. The 26-year-old currently holds an underwhelming 18-11 win-loss record this season, with most of the wins coming in Dubai. He will now hope to get back to his best under the tutelage of Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon champion.

Goran Ivanisevic says Stefanos Tsitsipas has a big challenge playing on the grass-court

Stefanos Tsitsipas has never played his best tennis on grass. The Greek star is known for playing his exquisite style of tennis on clay and hard courts. In fact, last year, he won only two matches on the grass court, exiting the second round of the Terra Wortmann Open and Wimbledon.

Stefanos Tsitsipas 2025 Madrid Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas (image via Instagram/ Mutua Madrid Open)

Ahead of his opening match at the Terra Wortmann Open, Goran Ivanisevic revealed that the 26-year-old star has a huge challenge with his style of play but he’s hopeful he will be able to change it:

He’s a very aggressive player, which I like. I always liked the way he played, and his style. It’s nice to see, and nice to put some input into his game, as a server, as a serve and volleyer. For me it’s actually a huge challenge and hopefully it’s going to work well. There is a lot to work with. Generally, he doesn’t have good results on grass. I don’t know why. It’s only [mental]. If you put in your head, ‘I cannot play on grass’, then you cannot play well, because grass doesn’t forgive you anything. If you get pissed on grass, the grass gives you it back. You have to be nice to the grass.

Tsitsipas holds a moderate 22-17 win-loss record on the grass-court, but it also includes a title run at the Mallorca Open in 2022. He hopes to become successful on the surface this year.