There are some pros and some cons when working with family, and it seems Stefano Tsitsipas has seen both sides of this story. Tsitsipas, who has long been coached by his father Apostolos Tsitsipas, took a brief break from the family tie to work under coach Goran Ivanisevic for a brief period. That period, however, ended in July, and it is now Apostolos coaching Tsitsipas from the sidelines, but maybe too literally.

In the ongoing round 2 match between Tsitsipas and Daniel Altmaier, Apostolos just got a warning for coaching Tsitsipas from the sidelines. This in itself is quite shocking since coaching has been largely legalized. Clearly, however, Apostolos was shouting out verbal instructions to his son from the opposite end of the court, which, as per the guidelines, is an offence.

The incident happened when Altmaier, up 5-3, was serving for the fourth set to bring things to level terms with the Greek star, who had taken the previous two. The code violation announcement was met with immediate hooting from the crowd in Grandstand. Even one of the ESPN commentators couldn’t help but chuckle as Tsitsipas tried to brush it off and take his position to receive the serve. Perhaps another father/mentor-son/mentee chat is on the cards? If it is, it wouldn’t be Tsitsipas’ first time expressing discontent with his father’s way of navigating situations.

Last year, after losing to Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the second round of the Montreal Masters, Tsitsipas, who had slipped out of the ATP top 10 by then, didn’t mince his words as he criticized his father and coach. “My father has not been very smart in handling some situations, in trying to read what is happening on the court,” he said, adding that it wasn’t the first time that his father had let him down. The elder Tsitsipas had already developed a reputation for pestering his son in between points and was even called out for coaching from the player box three years ago, when it was still illegal.

[UPDATE] Well, it seems like he took all that trouble for nothing, as his son eventually ended up losing the match and getting himself involved in another controversy no less.

Stefanos Tsitsipas loses the match… and his cool

Heated arguments during the post-match handshake seem to have become a staple at this year’s US Open. After losing 7-5, 6-1  in her second-round match on Wednesday, Jelena Ostapenko was seen wagging a finger at her opponent, Taylor Townsend, as the two engaged in an evidently heated conversation at the net. “She told me I have no education, no class, and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the U.S.,” Townsend revealed later, adding that she is excited to take on the challenge. Cut to the Tsitsipas-Altmaier clash, and the scenes weren’t too different.

The match ending with a scoreline of 7-6(5), 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the German’s favor meant that Stefanos Tsitsipas ended his Grand Slam season without making it past the second round in any of the majors. But apparently, that wasn’t the only thing the world No. 28 was upset about. As the two met for handshakes at the end of the match, Tsitsipas warned his opponent, “Next time don’t wonder why I hit you, ok?” 

He was referring to a moment in the match when he had caught the German off guard with a shot aimed at his body. And although he had apologized immediately after, it seems like he would skip the gesture next time it happens because of a fourth-set underarm serve that Altmaier had sent his way. “I’m just saying if you serve underarm… if you serve underarm,” he kept saying, until the German walked away. It seems like Tsitsipas will be a part of more than one difficult conversation, while Altmaier will take on the Australian Alex de Minaur in the third round of the US Open. Want to stay updated on whatever goes down at Flushing Meadows? Look no further than EssentiallySports’ Live Blog of the US Open.