“It can be difficult, but I enjoyed it,” Goran Ivanisevic reveals how it was to work with Novak Djokovic

Ivanisevic said the Serb has a winning mindset, and it's only the victories that matter to him.

“It can be difficult, but I enjoyed it,” Goran Ivanisevic reveals how it was to work with Novak Djokovic

Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic (Images via Imago)

Novak Djokovic is impatient and demanding, according to his former coach Goran Ivanisevic. During a recent interview, the 52-year-old coach explained why it was difficult for him to work with the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Ivanisevic said the Serb has a winning mindset, and it’s only the victories that matter to him. Under his tutelage, Djokovic has won many Grand Slam titles and other important trophies, but after his failure in this year’s Australian Open, they stopped working to end their six-year-long partnership. 

YouTube video
When you coach Novak Djokovic, anything other than winning the title in any tournament is a failure. That's a lot of pressure to deal with. Novak is very demanding. Something new must happen every day, he always wants to improve. If you can't handle it, it's better not to take the job at all. 
Goran Ivanisevic said during an interview with Blick 

As both Ivanisevic and Djokovic came from the Balkans, it helped them communicate better. At the same time, the coach had to deal with a lot of pressure, resulting in sleepless nights, and taking sleeping tablets. Despite all that, the Croat said he enjoyed his time working with the World No.1. 

FS Video
With Novak, it's like this: you only have a few seconds to explain something to him. He then wants to know 15 things at once, but you only have three seconds to do it. So you have to try to summarize everything in an intelligent way. It can be difficult, but I enjoyed it with Novak. 
Goran Ivanisevic added 

After ending the partnership with Ivanisevic, Djokovic joined hands with compatriot Nenad Zimonjic, under whom, the Serb will play his first Grand Slam event at the Roland Garros. 

Here’s how Novak Djokovic fared in 2024

Three Grand Slam singles and ATP Finals titles later, Novak Djokovic started his campaign in 2024 at the Australian Open and made it to the semifinals. He couldn’t go past Italy’s Jannik Sinner, losing it in four sets.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via Imago)

Then he played in Indian Wells where he got knocked out of the third round by Italy’s Luca Nardi. The same continued in Monte-Carlo as he reached the semifinals, but Casper Ruud secured the win. 

After missing the events in Barcelona and Madrid, Djokovic played in Rome. He easily eliminated Corentin Moutet in his first match but performed badly against Alejandro Tabilo in the next round. 

The Serb will also lose his No.1 ranking to Sinner if he fails to reach the Roland Garros final. The event in Paris starts on May 20 and will end on June 9. 

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