Novak Djokovic refused to disclose to Croatian media any further details about his split with Goran Ivanisevic but called his now-former coach “a family” and described their success as “historic.”
On Wednesday morning, Djokovic had a very important announcement to make, revealing that he decided to stop working with coach Ivanisevic. In their partnership – that lasted between 2019 and 2014 – the current world No. 1 added 12 Grand Slams to his collection.
A day after Djokovic announced his decision to part ways with Croatian tennis legend Ivanisevic, Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija came to Belgrade hoping to find the Serb. There, the Slobodna Dalmacija reporters managed to find Djokovic, who has been practicing on clay courts in Belgrade for the last couple of days,
After realizing that they were from Croatia – specifically Splti, which is Ivanisevic’s hometown – Djokovic smiled and warmly greeted them. But when asked about why the partnership with Ivanisevic ended, Djokovic didn’t reveal anything that wasn’t already said in his Instagram post, where he spoke very highly of Ivanisevic and their time together.
“I can’t make any comments now, I’m sorry that I won’t give you what you’re looking for, but thank you for coming. You are welcome to stay here, but Goran and I have ended our cooperation. You saw the (social media) post, so…” Djokovic told Slobodna Dalmacija.
Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Daniel Pockett
Djokovic: Ivanisevic is a family and that will never change
When Djokovic started working with Ivanisevic, he was still well behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the all-time Grand Slam race. Now at the end of their partnership, Djokovic is two Slams ahead of Nadal and he is also guaranteed to finish with at least four more Majors than Federer, who retired in 2022.
“Goran is a member of the family, a friend forever and it will remain like that. Professionally, we simply parted ways, we achieved a historic result – probably the most trophy-winning player and coach ever, so I think in that sense, I think it’s all been said in the last six years we worked together,” Djokovic added.
Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic© Getty Images Sport – Sarah Reed
The Monte Carlo Masters is starting on April 7th and it will be interesting to see if Djokovic adds a new coach before he starts his clay season.
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