Although it is the leader of the world ranking, the present of Novak Djokovic is far from optimal, as usual. So far this season he has not achieved the results expected by everyone. In fact, after losing surprisingly to the Italian Luca Nardi (then, 123rd) in the third round of Indian Wells, the Serbian said: “He deserves the victory. But I was more surprised with my level. My level was very, very bad.” He then dropped out of the Miami Masters 1000 and, now, a few days later, he shook the circuit with an announcement.
Nole informed that He will no longer work with the Croatian Goran Ivanisevic, who was his coach since 2018 and with whom he built a period of absolute success, achieving twelve Grand Slam trophies (he has 24 in total) and consolidating himself as the player with the most weeks at number 1 in the world.
“I clearly remember the moment when I invited Goran to be part of my team. It was in 2018, and Marian [Vajda, su antiguo coach] and I were looking to innovate and bring some magic to our duo. In fact, we not only brought service, but also a lot of laughter, fun, year-end No. 1 rankings, record achievements and 12 more Grand Slams (and some finals) to the tally since then. Did I mention a little drama too?,” Djokovic wrote on his social media account.
And he expanded: “Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our chemistry on the court had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid. In fact, I’m proud to say (I’m not sure I am) that apart from winning tournaments together, we also had a side battle in ludo… [un juego de mesa español] for many years. And that tournament never ends for us. Thanks for everything friend. I love you”.
This is not the only change that Djokovic makes to his team in the last times. At the end of last year, during the ATP Finals (the Masters tournament), he made official his separation from Edoardo Artaldi and Elena Cappellaro, his representatives and those responsible for communication for thirteen years. Some time before, in December 2022, the end of the professional union with the Argentine physiotherapist Ulises Badio, with whom he had worked since May 2017 and was very valuable in the rehabilitation of the Balkan tennis player’s various injuries, drew even more attention.
Surely in the coming weeks more details will be known about the end of the relationship with Ivanisevic (52 years old, 2001 Wimbledon champion). At the time, the Croatian joined the team led by Vajda as coach and helped Nole to strengthen itself and have a kind of new youth that helped him win the battle of records and records with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Regarding the technical aspect, Ivanisevic was very valuable in the improvement that Djokovic showed in the serve.
He was also by his side in thorny and distressing moments, such as when Djokovic was deported from Melbourne before the 2022 Australian Open for not being vaccinated against Covid-19.
For now, the concrete thing is that the world number 1 is without a coach. Djokovic is registered for the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, which will begin on April 7. There he was crowned twice: 2013 and 2015.