Goran Ivanisevic has revealed that he reached a mental saturation point with Novak Djokovic as both of them became tired of each other. Djokovic recently announced that he is parting ways with Ivansevic, ending their six-year-old partnership.
Ivanisevic joined Djokovic’s team back in 2018 and helped the Serbian in winning 12 Grand Slam titles. During his tenure, the duo saw lots of ups and downs as Djokovic was severely criticized for not taking the Covid-19 vaccination.
In an interview with Sport Klub, Ivanisevic said, “I mean, there isn’t really a ‘real’ reason. One reason is indeed a sense of saturation/fatigue, this really was a difficult and intense five years. People forget that period during the coronavirus, they forget that he was at one moment labeled as the greatest villain on the planet because of his vaccination status.
“So then we weren’t allowed in this country, then that country, then we travel over here… I mean, we were always in some sort of limbo – playing, not playing, ready again, then changing restrictions that forbid us from playing and we can’t travel there. Not to mention Australia and all of that mayhem.”
Ivanisevic added, “So yes, we reached a certain level of saturation, as I like to say: ‘material fatigue’, just as a car needs a regular service and tune up, basically I became tired of him, he became tired of me; in any case I didn’t feel like I could help him anymore. Even so, when we add it all up together, we achieved great things for ourselves and for tennis.”
Ivanisevic revealed that the feeling of fatigue came after the US Open win in 2023.
“No it wasn’t now in America [this year], I mean, it never really ‘occurred’,” explained the 52-year-old. “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 continued, “Of course, all congratulations to [Carlos] 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. We then went to America, and it goes without saying, 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.
“It was only a question of whether that would be at the end of the year, or at some point in this year, and just now 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. 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 six to seven weeks, I wasn’t there for Paris Bercy, Turin came after that.”
Djokovic has revealed that he is yet to decide on his new coach.
