Stefanos Tsitsipas landed at ATP Montreal 2024 with the aim of, why not, taking advantage of the turmoil. Without Djokovic, his conqueror in the Olympics, and without Alcaraz, the dominator of the last two Grand Slams, his visit to Canada seemed like a good opportunity to score some points and contend for the title. However, the dream ended quickly: in the second round against a Kei Nishikori who hadn’t achieved a result like this in three years.

Who would have thought, though, that behind this painful and resounding defeat lies a clear trigger. A reason put forward by Stefanos as an excuse that led to an argument and an incredible outburst towards his father and coach, Apostolos. During this week, Stefanos had changed his strings; nonetheless, he himself claims that “I felt like my ball was dead. My ball wasn’t heavy enough to stand out, when I hit with my forehand it didn’t go anywhere. Therefore, a disappointing defeat ensued.”

And what does Apostolos have to do with all this? We would not have imagined until the Greek confessed that the anger towards his father, whom he kicked out of the front row of the stadium during the match, stems from this controversial string change. Tsitsipas stressed that he had been “complaining about this for four or five days” to his coach and father, who persisted with this innovation in training, even though his son never felt comfortable. The ensuing words, pronounced after the loss to Nishikori, are noteworthy.

THE CHANGE OF DISCORD

“I’ve been complaining about this to my coach (Apostolos, his father) for four or five days. That’s why I argued with him during the match; I’m not used to this, but a Masters 1000 match is very important for me: I need and deserve a coach who listens to me and pays attention to my feedback as a player. My father hasn’t been very smart in handling these situations, and it’s not the first time this has happened. I am very disappointed with him.

Right now, I don’t know if I should consider making some changes, but I am very disappointed. The most important thing for a player is to receive correct and concise information from their coach. The coach doesn’t use the racket; the player is the one trying to execute a game plan. It’s a collaborative job in which both must contribute. It has to be reciprocal if I want to improve my tennis. I don’t want to remain stagnant in this sense.”

Are changes looming in the Greek’s coaching team? The brief periods with different coaches (Enqvist, Philippoussis) always ended in immediate dismissal, with Apostolos’ shadow looming over each of these periods. However, this week seems to have been a week of discord for the father and son, pushing their professional relationship to the limit and adding another curious episode. Meanwhile, the Greek continues to drift away from the elite of the rankings… unsure if he will react in time.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Tsitsipas y una descomunal rajada hacia su padre: “No ha sido muy inteligente…”