Patrick Mouratoglou has criticized Goran Ivanisevic for publicly attacking Stefanos Tsitsipas shortly after their coaching partnership began, calling it damaging to trust. The remarks follow Ivanisevic's recent interview detailing reasons for their brief split, amid Tsitsipas' continued struggles including a first-round Monte Carlo Masters loss.
In response to Goran Ivanisevic's March 27 Sport Klub interview—where he revealed knowing after two days that his coaching stint with Stefanos Tsitsipas would fail due to the player's physical and mental unpreparedness—Patrick Mouratoglou, Tsitsipas' former academy trainer and ex-coach of Serena Williams, labeled the behavior unprofessional. 'Goran going to the press and criticizing his player is not coaching. And even more at a time that they had just started to work together. So, no trust is made, and you’re already killing the person publicly,' Mouratoglou said via Sport Klub on April 6. Their partnership lasted less than two months last year, ending after Wimbledon. Mouratoglou argued Ivanisevic accepted the role knowing Tsitsipas' poor form and later distanced himself to avoid blame. 'It’s painful to see this,' he added. Ivanisevic stood by his comments, while Tsitsipas told The Times he was 'really hurt,' feeling kicked when down due to injury and unfitness at the time. Now coached by his father Apostolos, Tsitsipas lost 5-7, 4-6 to Francisco Cerundolo in Monte Carlo's first round on April 7—a stark contrast to his three titles there (2021, 2022, 2024). He risks dropping to No. 65, his lowest since 2018, and next plays doubles with brother Pavlos against Manuel Guinard and Guido Andreozzi.