Novak Djokovic announced Wednesday that he and his longtime coach, Goran Ivanisevic, have decided to part ways after an incredibly successful six-year relationship.
Djokovic broke the news on Instagram, focusing on their strong friendship off the court and their years-long Parcheesi battles.
Considering how much success Djokovic has had on the court since inviting Ivanisevic to join his team in 2018, the coach’s departure is sudden and a bit surprising. Their partnership bore an outrageous amount of fruit: four Australian Open titles, four Wimbledon titles, two French Open titles and two US Open titles. During that run, Novak tied the all-time Grand Slam record with his 22nd major trophy, then won two more to push the record to 24.
There’s an argument to be made for Goran Ivanisevic being the single most important hire in tennis history
From 2018-2023, he:
– Shaped Djokovic’s serve into one of the best on tour
– Helped Djokovic double his Grand Slam tally (12 to 24)
– Took Djokovic from #4 to #1 all time— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 27, 2024
Djokovic didn’t reveal the reasoning behind moving on from Ivanisevic, but his 2024 results so far haven’t been up to his usual standard. To kick off the year he lost to Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals of the United Cup, then followed that with a gut-wrenching loss to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final.
But those were both losses to established players, and in Sinner’s case, he defeated Djokovic to win his first-ever Grand Slam. At Indian Wells, a tournament Djokovic has won five times, he lost in the third round to Luca Nardi, who at the time was ranked No. 123 in the world. (Since defeating Djokovic, Nardi has jumped 27 spots to No. 96.)
It may seem extreme for Djokovic to part ways with his longtime coach after just a few months of subpar results, but he’s in the “no messing around” phase of his career right now. His goal is to win as many singles titles (especially Grand Slam titles) as possible, and at nearly 37 years old he knows time is running out. His age will catch up with him eventually, but perhaps by streamlining his team he believes he can outrun the inevitable march of time a little longer.
