LONDON — Stefanos Tsitsipas has everything he needs to come out of his rough patch and even win a Grand Slam. That is the belief of one of his fiercest rivals, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.
“I would not be surprised if he wins a Grand Slam one day,” the 2021 US Open champion told CLAY in London, after defeating Croatia’s Marin Čilić 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4 in Wimbledon.
“You never know, but definitely, once you have been there, you have that ability. When I say ‘one day’, it could be in two weeks, a year, five years. He could win, or reach the semis, something like that,” said the winner of 23 ATP titles.
“Stefanos can play, he can hit big shots, big serve, big forehand, big volley, that kind of thing. So sure, we have seen he was struggling a bit with his tennis. But again, I would not be surprised if at any moment he finds something back and just makes great results in a row,” Medvedev said.
The Russian and the Greek know each other well: they have met 15 times on tour (10-5 in favour of the former world No. 1), and have cultivated one of the spiciest rivalries on the circuit in recent years.
The history of tension between them is varied: they have traded insults on court, aimed celebrations at one another, and appealed animatedly to the umpire over the opponent’s behaviour or actions coming from the rival box.
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At the current edition of the year’s third Grand Slam, the world No. 87 announced fresh changes: he parted ways with his father as coach for the second time and began working with Frenchmen Thomas Perrin and Patrick Mouratoglou. The first split came in 2024, before Tsitsipas embarked on a highly publicised collaboration with Goran Ivanišević that ended badly. In an interview with CLAY, the Croatian was sharply critical of the player’s physical condition, and the relationship soon ended amid further public exchanges: “It is very difficult to be surrounded by dictators and people who speak negatively.”
Tsitsipas returned to working with Apostolos Tsitsipas until halfway through the 2026 season. He explained that his father gives him a sense of comfort he does not need in order to recover his level, that they have different objectives, and that he wants to choose what he believes is necessary for his career. He stated that this professional split is permanent.
“I want to start making my own decisions and deciding for myself. I have other things in mind that I do not think align with the way we have been working lately,” he explained.
