Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas experienced a tense moment with his father and coach, Apostolos, during his match against Kei Nishikori at the ATP Montreal on Thursday.
Tsitsipas suffered a 6-4, 6-4 second-round loss to Nishikori in just 78 minutes.
In the first set, a frustrated Tsitsipas halted the match, turned to his father and swore before requesting he leave the stadium. Apostolos complied and was seen exiting shortly after.
Tsitsipas expressed his frustration in a post-match interview, saying “Masters 1000 matches are important, I need a coach who listens to me as a player.”
“It has been a poor performance from my father and it’s not the first time. I’m disappointed with him,” he added.
In late 2022, Tsitsipas ditched his father as coach and took Greek Australian former US Open finalist Mark Philippoussis onto his team. The pact lasted until May 2023, when the Aussie departed and Apostolos returned to the fold.
Apostolos has a reputation for badgering his son between nearly every point and was called out for then-illegal coaching from the player box before the practice was recently permitted.
Tsitsipas’ ATP Montreal match marked his return to competition after the Paris Olympics, where he was defeated by eventual gold medalist Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Source: Ekathimerini
