'Nothing Bothered Him': Djokovic's Coach Refuses To Blame Australian Open Loss On Injury

| by Zachary Wimer

Novak Djokovic dealt with some injury woes leading up to the 2024 Australian Open, but according to his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, he was fully healthy against Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic's 2024 Australian Open campaign was somewhat weird. It wasn't that weirder than some of his previous ones, but things never looked right. From the opening match lasting over four hours to always struggling with some mysterious illness, it was just a weird campaign from start to finish.

The writings were on the wall for that to happen as he dealt with some injury woes leading up to the event, most notably at the United Cup. He was supposedly healthy when the first major of the season started and looked better with each match he played.

That didn't matter against Jannik Sinner, who bested him comfortably in four sets en route to his maiden Grand Slam final and eventually title. Some wondered whether Djokovic had dealt with any injury problems in that one, but his coach confirmed that it wasn't the case.

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Talking to Sportske Novosti when recently watching Croatia's Davis Cup tie, Goran Ivanisevic admitted that Djokovic had no physical issues against Jannik Sinner.

"No, nothing bothered him, he was healthy, but it just didn't work out... It can happen to him too, he's flesh and blood too. On the other hand, if he was going to lose to anyone, I'm glad it was Sinner."

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The Serbian certainly didn't play his best match and was nowhere near his best tennis. Whether that was physical or not doesn't ultimately matter. Still, the best indicator will be the upcoming months.

Djokovic will presumably return fully healthy, and then we'll see if he's truly going to be overpowered by these young players or whether the Australian Open surprise was a one-off.

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