Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed in front of Bjorn Borg that he would have nothing against the Swede becoming his next coach but the former 11-time Grand Slam champion was quick to shut it down.
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This weekend, the 26-year-old is making his fourth Laver Cup appearance for Team Europe. And once again, he has a chance to spend some time with the 68-year-old tennis legend and pick his brain.
As you probably know very well by now, the Greek recently ended his partnership with his father Apostolos in a very tense way. After getting extremely annoyed by his father during the first set of his Montreal Masters match against Kei Nishikori, Tsitsipas wanted his father gone from the stands and his request was granted.
In his presser, the world No. 12 had some harsh words for his father by describing him as "not very smart" in certain areas and all of that led to the 26-year-old confirming the next day that he and his dad were no longer working together.
And following a 6-1 6-4 Laver Cup win over Thanasi Kokkinakis, the two-time Grand Slam finalist was asked if he could choose, who would be his next coach.
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Right now? Bjorn, he responded.
Borg: No, I'm very old...
Reacting to that revelation, the former six-time French Open winner noted that he liked the Greek as a person and player but made it clear that he wasn't interested in coaching anyone on a full-time basis on the ATP Tour.
"No, but I think we have a good team spirit. For me personally, I'm very old, but to spend time with these guys, and I have been doing that for many years, and I respect and I like the way they are as persons, not only tennis, but personality is very important. That's why for him to be, my loss, yeah, to be this week together with me, it's fantastic," Borg said.
Tsitsipas respectfully accepted the Swede's response.
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"Thank you, Bjorn. The aura, it's all about the aura. Why I choose Bjorn, it's not because he's sitting right next to me here. I feel like the aura makes a big difference. Sometimes it's not what they tell you and how they tell you. It's that intimacy that you feel of someone sitting next to you and communicating things to you in a spiritual way," he said.
Tsitsipas' brutally honest confession and why he needs a new spark
During the clay season, the 2021 French Open runner-up made some notable results and won the Monte Carlo Masters. But apart from that, the former world No. 3 has been pretty unimpressive and is just 37-17 in 2024.
Over the years, the 11-time ATP champion has highlighted numerous that his biggest goal is winning Grand Slams. This year, he didn't come anywhere near landing his first Major - lost in the Australian Open round-of-16 - reached the French Open quarterfinal - only made the Wimbledon second round - and got bounced in the US Open first round.
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After a shock US Open first-round defeat against Kokkinakis, Tsitsipas confessed to reporters that he didn't feel like himself anymore and that something changed.
Im nothing compared to the player I was before. I remember myself playing when I was younger, playing with adrenaline on the court, feeling like my life depends on the match. And these things, I feel like they have faded off, and lets say my level of consistency hasnt been as big. I remember my concentration used to be at its highest, at its peak, back then, and thats something that I felt has dropped a little bit," the 2023 Australian Open finalist said.
"I know it sounds strange, but I feel like I need the hunger to reproduce the hunger I had back then. And Im not a person that feels alright or settles for normal stuff. Like, I really want to regenerate it and bring it back because it brought a lot of joy to my tennis when I was able to feel that way on the court. I really dont know why it has dropped the last couple of months. I would even consider it like one to two years Ive been feeling that way. I guess I was just able to hide it a bit better and put it to the side a bit more.
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Since it is pretty evident that Tsitsipas needs a new spark and something to get him going again, his next coaching decision could prove to be the key because he needs someone who can help him elevate his game but also help him return mentally to a level where he can again feel like a contender on the biggest stage.
