Goran Ivanisevic provided insight into his separation from Novak Djokovic, as well as discussing the Serb’s defeat to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon and the subsequent decline.
On March 27, Djokovic made the announcement that he would be parting ways with coach Ivanisevic after almost five years of working together. He expressed his fondness for their successful partnership and their close relationship outside of tennis.
Despite the Serb’s assurance that the split was amicable, there was widespread speculation about the reasons behind the sudden decision in the middle of the season. Ivanisevic reflected on his “intense five years”with the 24-time Grand Slam champion, stating:
“I mean, there isn’t really a “real” reason (for the split). One reason is indeed a sense of saturation/fatigue, this really was a difficult and intense five years,”he told Sport Klub as per Tennis Majors.
The 2001 Wimbledon champion detailed the difficulties they encountered during their partnership, such as Djokovic’s deportation from the 2022 Australian Open and subsequent ban from competing in North America due to his vaccination status.
“People forget that period during the coronavirus. They forget that he was at one moment labelled as the greatest villain on the planet because of his vaccination status,”he noted. “I mean, we were always in some sort of limbo.”
Ivanisevic attributed their decision to “material fatigue”that followed.
“So yes, we reached a certain level of saturation, as I like to say: ‘material fatigue,’”the Croat said. “Basically I became tired of him, he became tired of me; in any case I didn’t feel like I could help him anymore.”
As their partnership continued to deteriorate, Goran Ivanisevic revealed that he began sensing that it was coming to an end during the 2023 North American tour. This realization came shortly after Novak Djokovic’s loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, a tournament he had previously won four times in a row.
“I first noticed the feeling, if I’m being completely honest, last year in America. I won’t say as far back as Wimbledon, but that Wimbledon, of course the player is always most affected, but as a coach that loss really hit hard,”he said.
“Of course, all congratulations to Alcaraz, at the end of the day. He was the better player, but one or two points here and there, it could have easily turned out different, I won’t go into it now,”he added.
Despite Novak Djokovic’s impressive success in the United States, including a victory over Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Masters final and his fourth US Open title, it appears that his relationship with Ivanisevic has encountered some obstacles.
“An incredible run there – that finals match against Alcaraz in Cincinnati, winning the US Open; however, that’s when I really began to feel that the end was near,”he said.
Goran Ivanisevic Reflects on His Decision to Split with Novak Djokovic
During discussions about the mid-season split, Goran Ivanisevic expressed his confidence in parting ways with Novak Djokovic since the end of 2023.
“It was only a question of whether that would be at the end of the year, or at some point in this year (2024),”he said in the aforementioned interview.
“Maybe in hindsight you could say it should have been at the end of last year but after the US Open, I had that operation on my knee, I wasn’t there for Paris Bercy, Turin came after that,”he added.
During the recent Sunshine Double, the Croat discussed his upcoming conversation with Djokovic.
“In America when I spoke to Novak he said something good – there is no right or wrong moment, there is only that moment when it happens, when two people agree it is time,”he said.
Despite his efforts at the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic has not been able to secure a title in 2024. His journey on clay will begin at the Monte-Carlo Masters (April 7-13).
Ever since his split with Ivanisevic, he has been joined by fellow Serbian player Nenad Zimonjic.
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