Novak Djokovic hilariously addresses umpires recognizing when he swears in Serbian

Novak Djokovic jokingly said that coach Goran Ivanisevic has evidently been failing to find ways to motivate him and also joked that it’s a problem that umpires now more easily recognize swear words he drops in Serbian. Djokovic, 36, and 2001 Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic have been collaborating since 2019. Their partnership has been nothing but a major success as Djokovic has added nine more Grand Slams to his collection since then. This year alone, the 36-year-old Serb was a finalist in all four Grand Slams and won three Majors. “Goran and the rest of the team are trying to find new ways to motivate me. They haven’t been succeeding much so far,” Djokovic told Eurosport.

Djokovic on umpires recognizing when he swears in Serbian 

Since Djokovic and Ivanisevic come from the same region, they pretty much speak the same language. With that being said, there is no need for Djokovic and Ivanisevic to communicate in English. During moments of frustration, Djokovic tends to drop a few swear words in Serbian but umpires now recognize more easily when the Serb is swearing on the court or toward his box. “We have a lot of fun, we are great friends. We have a professional relationship. The problem we have, because of the success of Croatian and Serbian players in the last 30 years or so, we unfortunately have a situation where most of the umpires understand the swearing words. So we have to play around a little bit, we have to use the slang, create new words, but when you’re p—- off you don’t think about creating,” Djokovic said. By winning this year’s US Open, Djokovic became the first-ever male player with 24 Grand Slams. In 2024, Djokovic will have a chance to also beat Margaret Court’s record and become the first-ever player with 25 Grand Slams. “I’m happy with 24 but people in my country they say why not go for 25, 30. I say if it was that easy, it would be great,” Djokovic said.