The relationship between Stefanos Tsitsipas and his father, Apostolos, reached boiling point in Montreal last week after the 26-year-old was ousted in straight sets to Kei Nishikori.
Tsitsipas, who subsequently terminated his father’s role as his coach, has had a sub-par 2024 campaign by his lofty standards.
The Greek has failed to win an ATP title and has slipped from number six to 11 in the world rankings.
The two-time major finalist, who led Novak Djokovic by two sets to love in the 2019 French Open final, has struggled to replicate the form that drove him to success at the Tour Finals in 2019.
Now, Tsitsipas appears to have replaced his father in time for his Cincinnati Open campaign where he will try and emulate the tennis he played to reach the final here in 2022.
Who is the new coach of Stefanos Tsitsipas?
In a bid to reignite his best tennis, Stefanos Tsitsipas has called on the help of Greece’s Davis Cup captain, Dimitris Hadjinikolau.
Hadjinikolau owns and leads the Chatzinikolaou Tennis Academy in Greece and has also previously worked with Stefanos’ younger brother Petros, reports tennis24.
The 45-year-old has no prior experience coaching at ATP level, but knows the Tsitsipas family well from their time working together during the Olympics in Paris and the Davis Cup editions in previous years.
Can Tsitsipas regroup in time for US Open?
Tsitsipas has notoriously had trouble at the US Open in previous years, having never made it past the third round.
And it appears a tall order once more, given the form that the Greek is in coupled with the switch in coaches. However, changes to a players’ coaching team can often spark quick success.
Tsitsipas has been working with Hadjinikolau for the past few days and the tennis world will find out on Wednesday when he steps foot on court against Jan-Lennard Struff whether he can finish the season on a high.
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