Stefanos Tsitsipas with a new coach?
Will Stefanos Tsitsipas (ATP No. 4) join the team? Pictures from Rotterdam could indicate this.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Feb 09, 2022, 01:52 pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas made a successful start to the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam, albeit with some problems . The Greek needed three sets against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Tuesday evening.
Something else, however, brought some attention away from his game: Tsitsipas' new companion. Because he was spotted with Thomas Enqvist during training. The Swede, formerly number 4 in the world, was most recently in the public eye as co-captain of the European team at the Laver Cup. Is there now a coaching time with Tsitsipas? Or are the two in a test phase? Both are possible.
Tsitsipas: Forbidden on-court coaching?
So far, Tsitsipas has been coached by his father Apostolos, not without side effects. In the past, Tsitsipas has repeatedly received warnings for illegal coaching from his father, most recently at the Australian Open.
However, Tsitsipas himself appeased. When there's a lot going on, his father's "medicine" is to talk. "And then you can't stop him. That's in his nature." He spent a lot of time talking to him about it, but it's part of his father. "I'm pretty sure I'll keep getting warnings for coaching, even if I don't listen to a word he says."
Tsitsipas therefore also spoke out in favor of allowed on-court coaching, "because coaches do that anyway". Some would get away with it if they were smart
Whether a possible commitment with Enqvist is related to this? The Swede is considered a rather quieter contemporary. If he were to join the team as an addition, Papa Apostolos would at least have someone to talk to.