Novak Djokovic admits the mistake he made in his tennis career which Goran Ivanisevic completely disagreed with

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Novak Djokovic made an admission regarding a decision he made at the start of the 2024 season.

Going into that campaign, the Serbian had enjoyed a tremendous 2023 in which he won three Grand Slams and broke the overall record, and the ATP Finals crown.

Many expected Novak Djokovic’s dominance to continue into 2024, but for the first time in several years, he struggled throughout the season and suffered more defeats earlier in tournaments.

Though Djokovic did manage to win the Olympic gold medal, 2024 was a season in which Djokovic’s dominance at the tip of the game came to an end.

What did Novak Djokovic do that former coach Goran Ivanisevic did not agree with?

Goran Ivanisevic coached Djokovic from 2019 to 2024. Under the Croatian’s tutelage the 38-year-old won nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles before they parted ways a year ago.

At the start of that season, rather than choosing to have an extended period of rest, Djokovic played the United Cup in Australia, a decision Ivanesevic did not agree with.

Given the season he went on to have, Djokovic thinks he made the wrong choice to start his campaign at the time he did.

“There are moments when you think maybe I could have done this a little differently,” Djokovic said as he reflected on his career. ”I think that happened in 2023, after such a successful season which was very long and crowned with three Grand Slam titles.

“Crowned with being world number one at the age of 35, I also won awards for best athlete and everything was beautiful. But then I simply rushed too quickly into a new season. In tennis for example, tennis currently has the longest season of all global sports. There is no break.

“The season officially starts on January 1st or even December 30th and runs until the end of November. That basically means if you play the full season, which I’m not doing right now but most guys and girls are playing it, they play and only have about one month in total to rest and prepare for the next season.

“I committed too early to playing the start of the 2024 season. At that time Goran Ivanisevic was my coach and I remember that he didn’t agree with that decision.

“He wanted me to play something right before the Australian Open at the beginning of 2024 but considering how intense the end of my season was, he was right. I think it would have been better if I had rested, started training again, and then gone straight there.”

Novak Djokovic explains why he lost to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Australian Open

Entering the 2024 Australian Open, Djokovic was going for his 11th title at Melbourne Park and he had not lost there since 2018.

He faced Jannik Sinner in a highly-anticipated semi-final matchup, and the Italian produced a blistering performance to claim a four-set win, before going on to win the title.

Reflecting on that defeat, Djokovic cites a lack of mental toughness and claimed he was suffering from burnout.

“That is one example of a decision which I could’ve made differently,” Djokovic added. “But I didn’t. It’s okay. It happened for a reason and then came the burnout. I didn’t have time to rest and recharge.

“I immediately jumped into another Grand Slam. I reached the semi finals and lost to Jannik Sinner. That day I was only physically present on the court. Mentally completely absent. After that I realised that I had no more energy, not just for the tournament but more broadly.”