World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic surprised everyone by parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic. They had a very successful partnership, starting with Djokovic winning Wimbledon in 2019, the first tournament with Ivanisevic as his coach.
“Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our on court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion wrote on Instagram in March after talking to Ivanisevic in Miami.
Djokovic’s words were accurate—their relationship during matches had its highs and lows, with Djokovic often expressing his frustrations toward the 2001 Wimbledon winner.
Ivanisevic has now talked about the pressure he felt coaching the 24-time Grand Slam champion, admitting it led to some sleepless nights.
“I always had good [sleeping] tablets,” he told Blick. “No, seriously: you have pressure every day in this industry. But I was completely okay with it. You get used to the circumstances.”
With Ivanisevic being Croatian and Djokovic Serbian, the 52-year-old said their similar backgrounds helped. He continued: “It helped that we both came from the Balkans. Novak and I are similar. I was always prepared for his possible reactions.”
Since Djokovic is such a great player, there was extra pressure on Ivanisevic. “Well, when you train Novak Djokovic, anything other than winning the title at any tournament is a failure. That’s a lot of pressure to deal with,” the former world No. 2 added.
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