Stefanos Tsitsipas has nine-word reply to Ivanisevic coach rumours after Monte-Carlo loss

had a brief response to rumours that Goran Ivanisevic will be joining his team later this spring. There have been reports that the 2001 Wimbledon champion will . But Tsitsipas gave an ominous reply when asked if it was true.

The world No. 8 was "heartbroken" after losing to Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-final of the Monte-Carlo Masters. A three-time champion at the tournament, it's Tsitsipas' second defeat here since 2019.

Ahead of Tsitsipas' latest match in Monaco, Greek news outlet reported that the 26-year-old would be joining forces with Ivanisevic once he finished playing at Roland Garros at the end of the clay season.

A former world No. 2, Ivanisevic spent five years coaching Novak Djokovic and recently with , which finished after the Australian Open.

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas ended his long-term coaching partnership with his father, Apostolos, last August. He has since been working with Dimitris Chatzinikolaou.

But Tsitsipas would not confirm nor deny the rumours after his match on Friday. Asked whether he'd be working with Ivansevic, the Greek player replied: "I'm not in a position to answer that yet."

Tsitsipas was defending the title in Monte-Carlo this week and was seeking his fourth title at the Country Club. After storming through the first set against Lorenzo Musetti, he suffered a 1-6 6-3 6-4 defeat - and it hit him hard.

"It's difficult to accept. I mean, feeling so confident playing on this court and not being able to win a match that I felt I kind of had every reason to try and win is definitely heartbreaking," he said.

"[The issue] was, I would say, serve 100 per cent. The serve definitely was the thing that kind of was missing, but also, it didn't help me when I needed it. I was playing with a second serve -- the entire second and third set I was playing with just one serve.

"I can't say that I had moments where I could, like, build the rallies around my serve, placing it well. Maybe the first set I served all right, but still not entirely satisfied with how I served in the first set.

"I might feel like maybe he came in a bit sore and tight and his game wasn't quite showing in the first set. I knew I was in trouble when I wasn't able to put first serves in. It made me feel uncertain."

"His clay court game is very good. He has great qualities to play, you know, great on clay. He's shown that before in the past.

"I just feel like I could have done way more today. I missed forehands I never miss. I was actually quite surprised to see those forehands go out or to the net.

"I'm not used to it, especially on clay. Maybe on hard a bit more, but I feel like I can -- I'm just used to different angle and a different launch angle from my racket. I just felt like when situations kind of got tight, just seemed like I couldn't control the ball at all."

A dejected Tsitsipas also admitted he didn't know where his lack of control came from.

"I have no idea. I have no idea. I was kind of confused, looking deep down, trying to understand what's happening, because these things are definitely not normal," he added.