Goran Ivanisevic reveals what the hardest thing was about coaching Novak Djokovic, ‘I have never seen anything like it in my life’

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Novak Djokovic enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Goran Ivanisevic before parting ways with him in 2024.

Together, Ivanisevic’s meticulous approach to preparation led Djokovic to a wealth of titles during a period where he was the dominant figure in the sport of tennis.

Since the 2001 Wimbledon winner pursued other avenues, Djokovic hasn’t won a Grand Slam title and perhaps that speaks volumes.

Andy Murray is now in the corner of the 24-time Grand Slam champion and the weight rests on his shoulders when it comes to coaching Djokovic over the line in one of the big events.

Ivanisevic is going to be working with Stefanos Tsitsipas after the French Open and he’s been reminiscing about working with Djokovic during a recent interview.

• READ MORE: Goran Ivanisevic shares what he hates about modern tennis

Goran Ivanisevic reveals hardest thing about coaching Novak Djokovic

It’s hard to imagine there being too many issues when it comes to coaching a player like Djokovic, given all he’s achieved in the game of tennis.

However, there was one thing that Ivanisevic did find a little bit tricky when it came to being in the Serbian player’s corner.

He said on a Croatian TV channel: “I don’t know what could be the hardest. He’s quite serious. He likes biomechanics and many similar things. It’s not that I don’t believe in that but some things have nothing to do with biomechanics. You can’t think about the biomechanics of your hips, your knees, when you throw the ball for your serve and the sun hits your eyes and you can’t see anything. You can’t see the ball. For one second, you can’t see the ball and you hit it blindly. You can’t think about your hip while serving while you’re blind as a bat. There’s also the wind.

“He wants to be perfect at it. He’s a perfectionist. I am too, but you have to find some balance.

“And the easiest thing for me is that I have never seen a tennis player who can not play tennis for two months and then play as if he never even stopped.

“He plays like he had been training for five hours a day for the past two months. Such timing, such a feel for the court, for the ball, for the space. I have never seen anything like it in my life. Nadal is not like that. He has to train every day.”

Djokovic might have dropped the ball over Ivanisevic

Although the parting of the ways was amicable, there is perhaps a case to suggest that Djokovic should have tried harder to keep the Croatian in his corner.

Since parting, Djokovic has reached a Wimbledon final but ultimately, he does seem to have lost that aura of invincibility about him.

There are other things to factor in, of course. Djokovic isn’t getting any younger and as a result, injuries have started to have a bigger impact on his body.

There is no doubting Ivanisevic’s quality as a coach, however, and perhaps there’s an argument to suggest that Djokovic shouldn’t have let him go as quickly as he did.