Novak Djokovic recently parted company with Croatian coach Goran Ivanisevic through a social media post that sent shockwaves across the tennis world.
Djokovic's message and tone suggested that the split was mutual. As many as five names are in contention to replace the former World No. 2, who famously won Wimbledon as a wild card in 2001.
However, according to reports, tension within the camp brought one of the most successful partnerships in tennis to a halt. The pair began working in an official capacity in 2019.
Ivanisevic is credited with helping Djokovic become one of the sport's most efficient servers during his tenure. The 52-year-old also steered Djokovic to win nine Grand Slams from 2019 until last year's US Open.
Ivanisevic witnessed Djokovic shatter the men's Grand Slam record by winning his 23rd and 24th majors last season. At the end of 2023, Djokovic became the oldest year-end no. 1 and completed the year by winning the ATP Finals. Sadly, that proved to be their last triumph together.
The Croat is one of the very few coaches who guided two ATP players to Grand Slam successes (he was the coach of Marin Cilic at the 2014 US Open). His relationship with Djokovic extended beyond a normal player-coach bond.
The lefty regards Djokovic on the same level as the greats in other sports outside of tennis because the Serb has conquered almost everything there is to win.
But there has been a twist to their relationship. In a recent tweet by tennis analyst Craig Shapiro, Ivanisevic was on borrowed time in his role as Djokovic's coach after a "big argument".
"Been told that everything officially fell apart after a big argument over Novak’s effort in practice in Indian Wells."
Just a week ago, Shapiro mentioned that Djokovic was "unhappy" with his coaching team after an indifferent start to the season, which has yielded zero titles so far. Defeat to Luca Nardi in Indian Wells proved to be the ultimate straw, forcing the 24-time Grand Slam champion into making a major decision.
"Speaking of Novak, Just learned from inside sources that Novak is “unhappy with his team” and is going to be making some changes. Will focus on the clay, is unsure about playing Wimbledon as he is hyper focused on winning Olympic Gold in Roland Garros."
0 Comments