Stefanos Tsitsipas
After beating Wu Yibing in a hard-fought Wimbledon opener, Novak Djokovic has been rewarded with a match against old rival Stefanos Tsitsipas and a renewal of a heated rivalry also including the Greek's father and former coach. Djokovic holds an impressive 12-2 record against his next opponent, including victories in the final of the French Open in 2021 and Australian Open in 2023. And the bad blood has extended to involve Tsitsipas’ dad Apostolos, who the 27-year-old dropped as his coach on the eve of Wimbledon this year.
Tsitsipas Sr drew criticism for refusing to stand after Djokovic defeated his son at Melbourne Park in 2023, remaining slumped in his seat as the Serb lifted the trophy to attract accusations of disrespect. The controversy came just one year after Tsitsipas Jr attacked his rival for off-court behaviour, specifically a refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering Australia for the 2022 edition of the Grand Slam. Djokovic had his visa cancelled by Australian authorities over the matter and was deported, preventing him from competing in the first Slam of 2022 and drawing strong words from the younger Tsitsipas.
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"There's two ways to look at it," Tsitsipas said before the deportation was confirmed. "One way is every single player, almost, the stats say 98 per cent of the players, have been vaccinated.
"They did what they had to do to perform and play in Australia. So one side of it is, yeah we've all followed the protocols in order to compete in Australia, who have been very disciplined in that part.
"In the other sense I'd say, it kind of seems like not everyone is playing by the rules of how Tennis Australia or some governments have been putting things.
"And a very small minority of that percentage chose to follow their own way which kind of makes the rest, the majority, look like they're all fools or something."
Ahead of Wimbledon this year, Stefanos confirmed he was taking on Thomas Perrin as his new coach, with Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou providing some additional supervision. “The older I get, the more difficult it is for me to maintain a stable relationship with my father, compared to when I was a little kid, 18-19-20 years old,” he told SDNA.
“I believe that my father needs other things, just as I need different things. I felt it in the daily energy of our collaboration. I feel that we have reached a point where I am now looking for something completely different.
“I have been feeling lately that having my father by my side brings me comfort, but it is not the solution for me to take the next steps and do something different in my career. Of course, I love him very much and I want the best for him, but right now I am thinking about myself and what is best for me.”
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