"Goran Ivanisevic handled Novak Djokovic, he can surely handle Stefanos Tsitsipas" - Fans react to Greek's first on-court spat with new coach

Stefanos Tsitsipas and his new coach Goran Ivanisevic engaged in a brief disagreement during the Greek's second-round loss at the 2025 Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, Germany. It was the first glimpse of an on-court spat between the player and the coach, who recently began their collaboration. Several tennis fans took notice of the moment and poured in with their reactions, with some bringing up Ivanisevic's old pupil, Novak Djokovic.

Ivanisevic coached Djokovic from 2018 to early 2024. The partnership was a glorious one, yielding 12 of the Serb's 24 Major titles and several other prestigious championships. However, it wasn't always smooth sailing between the pair.

In his second-round defeat at Halle at the hands of Alex Michelsen, Stefanos Tsitsipas was captured on camera venting his frustrations at Ivanisevic. The Greek suffered a chastening straight-set loss to the young American, continuing his miserable run of form that has seen him drop out of the top 20 in the ATP Tour rankings.

First quarell between Tsitsipas and his new coach Ivanišević byu/lisq3 intennis

Some tennis fans on Reddit suggested that Ivanisevic would have no problems in dealing with conflicts with Tsitsipas, considering his experience over the years with Novak Djokovic. The Serb is widely known as a temperamental character, and he would frequently engage in angry confrontations with the Croatian coach during their time together.

"If Goran handled Djokovic then he can surely handle Tsitsipas," a fan opined.

"But can Tsitsipas handle Goran?," one asked in response to the previous comment.

"This is nothing for Goran," another fan chimed in.

Here are some more reactions from fans to the brief spat between Tsitsipas and Ivanisevic:

"Goran having to go from the best return and backhand (a reference to Novak Djokovic) to one of the worst returns and backhands lol," wrote one fan.

"It's good to have some bickering here and there tbh, shows that both sides actually care," another added.

"Fighting with your coach is the sign of a productive relationship, though i'm not sure this is working...," weighed in yet another fan.

Tsitsipas' first outing under Ivanisevic's tutelage was a promising one, as the Greek registered a fighting comeback victory in the first round of the Terra Wortmann Open against Luciano Darderi. The Croatian coach, a former ATP icon himself, recently expressed his belief in Tsitsipas and predicted the Greek to break back into the ATP top 10.

"Stefanos Tsitsipas is for me a top 10 player any day" - Goran Ivanisevic

Stefanos Tsitsipas in action at the 2025 Terra Wortmann Open in Halle (Source: Getty)

Laying bare his confidence about Stefanos Tsitsipas rediscovering his finest form, Goran Ivanisevic recently told the official website of the ATP Tour that the Greek, despite recent disappointments, will bounce back eventually. However, the Croatian coach admitted that the improvement is likely to take time.

"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," Ivanisevic said.

So far this year, Stefanos Tsitsipas has registered 19 wins and 12 losses. The highest point in the Greek's 2025 season came at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he registered his 12th career singles title triumph.