World No.14 Tomas Berdych has ended his collaboration with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic less than a week after his French Open exit.
The two have worked together on the tour since August with Berdych’s only title occurring in October at the Shenzhen Open. In recent weeks the Czech has been troubled by a lower back injury, but did reach the final of the Lyon Open a week before the start of Roland Garros.
It is understood that the 31-year-old fired Ivanisevic following his straight sets loss to Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the third round at the French Open. It is the first time that he has failed to reach the fourth round at two consecutive tournaments within the same year since 2004. Currently ranked 14th in the world, Berdych is ranked at his lowest position since May 2010.
“Goran and I will not be working together anymore,” Berdych wrote on Facebook.
“I enjoyed the ride and we will remain great friends.”
“Wish him all the best in the future and I am committed to go after my goals with my current team.”
Former world No.2 Ivanisevic previously coached Marin Cilic prior to Berdych. During their three-year stint, he guided the Croat to the US Open title in 2014 as well as a series of ATP titles. There is yet to be any comment from the 45-year-old regarding the split.
A coach-less Berdych now embarks upon the grass season in the search of finding greater consistency in his form. Prior to Wimbledon, the only grand slam he has reached the final at, the Czech will play tournaments in both Stuttgart and Queen’s.
So far in his career, Berdych has played in 31 ATP finals and won 13 titles. He has also produced multiple wins over every member of the ‘big four’ (Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer).
