The news that Novak Djokovic and his coach and close confidant Goran Ivanisevic are going their separate ways in the future came as a surprise – and raises questions about his last remaining years in the tennis circus, especially after the Serbian’s unsuccessful start to the season.
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Djokovic is by no means a player who is afraid of change, as a look at the past shows. This does not only apply, but also to the composition of his team.
Ivanisevic follows tennis icons Becker and Agassi
The world number one has had eight coaches at his side in his 21-year career, including Boris Becker, with whom he worked from 2013 to 2016. Very short collaborations with tennis icon Andre Agassi and ex-professional Radek Stepanek followed, until Marian Vajda, who had already held this position in previous years, became head coach again.
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Ivanisevic joined the team in 2018 to bring innovations and “serving magic to our team,” as Djokovic wrote in his Instagram post at the end of the collaboration – and he undoubtedly succeeded.
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Although Djokovic had improved his initially rather mediocre serve over the course of his career, it was only under the Croatian that this became a real weapon.
Djokovic: “Relationship had ups and downs”
As a strong character, Ivanisevic was also the ideal man to put up with Djokovic’s outbursts of anger towards the box or even shoot them back, which then seemed to spur the Serb on even further.
In his Instagram post, Djokovic writes openly about the relationship between the two that “our relationship on and off the court had its ups and downs, but our friendship was still rock solid.”
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With twelve joint Grand Slam titles, the success was more than “rock solid”. Ivanisevic has undoubtedly brought the desired innovation to Djokovic’s game.
Discipline and lifestyle pave the way to the top
Innovation is a word that runs through Novak Djokovic’s career anyway. The Serb is considered an inventor who always wants to get the most out of himself and his body – and also takes the most unusual paths, even if some of his theories cause irritation.
According to his own statements, a key factor in his success was switching to a gluten- and lactose-free diet in 2010 after a nutritionist diagnosed an intolerance. This repeatedly caused the Serb to have bouts of weakness on the pitch, which from then on were history.
The 36-year-old now relies on mostly vegan foods. He starts the day with a “detoxification cure” consisting of a glass of warm water and squeezed lemon.
In addition to his special diet, yoga and meditation are integral parts of his lifestyle to strengthen his body and mind. He also has a penchant for spirituality and esotericism, from which he draws a lot of strength.
Even on the training ground, the world number one is not afraid to try out new things. For example, he has practiced Brazilian martial arts with Capoeira several times.
Alcaraz and Sinner are making life difficult for Djokovic
But despite all the discipline and mindfulness, nature does not stop at Djokovic. It hasn’t always been easy for the 36-year-old to consistently bring his top level onto the pitch. His game often fluctuates.
This is also shown by a look at the most recent results: At the Australian Open, the Serbian Jannik Sinner was clearly defeated in the semi-finals, and at the Masters in Indian Wells, he was surprisingly eliminated in round three against the Italian Luca Nardi, who had only slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser .
Results that the “Djoker” is not used to – and that annoy him, as do you during his outburst of anger towards his box in the Sinner match as well as against Nardi.
Despite 24 Grand Slam titles, 97 tournament victories on the ATP tour and 418 weeks at the top of the world rankings, the Serb is not yet fed up. But the younger generation is also hungry for success. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in particular heralded the changing of the guard in tennis.
Family life is increasingly coming into focus
It won’t be any easier for Djokovic to win the big titles. The seven-time Wimbledon winner is rarely seen in day-to-day business anyway: he concentrates on the Grand Slams and a few Masters 1000 tournaments in preparation for them.
However, he recently canceled the event in Miami at short notice in order to “balance his private and professional plans.” This statement also makes it clear that, in addition to sport, other things such as family life are becoming more and more important for the father of two.
With all of these signs, the question arises as to what still pushes the Serb to the limit day after day after all his successes. And why he is now looking for impulse again with the separation from Ivanisevic instead of letting his career end at his friend’s side.
Because with his 24 Grand Slam titles, Djokovic has finally left his long-time rivals Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer (20) behind. Nadal is still playing – but before the announced end of his career at the end of the season, he is probably only pursuing the goals of the French Open and the Olympics.
Haas to Djokovic: “Really outrageous”
Djokovic: The search for the question of meaning
But perhaps it is the irrepressible will to become the sole Grand Slam record holder across genders that drives Djokovic. His name is currently in the top list alongside that of the Australian Margaret Court, who also triumphed at a major 24 times.
Perhaps the coaching swap is simply a signal to everyone not to write him off yet, even though his dominance has recently begun to crumble a little.
Or Djokovic sees the chance to play his way even more into the hearts of tennis fans in the late autumn of his career with new successes and, given the (frequent) absence of Nadal and Federer – including those who previously had little understanding for him and above all showered this duo with love.
Djokovic’s last big goal
The only thing that is certain is that Djokovic still has one huge goal in 2024 – Olympic gold in Paris. Because this is missing from Djokovic’s career – even compared to his big rivals. While Federer won Olympic gold at least in doubles with Stan Wawrinka, Nadal even achieved this in both singles and doubles.
If you believe the well-connected US tennis podcaster Craig Shapiro, who had previously predicted changes to Djokovic’s team, the Serb is even thinking about skipping Wimbledon(!) in order to increase his chances of winning gold. The lawn highlight takes place between the French Open and the Olympics.
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But Djokovic doesn’t yet know who can help him. “As far as the next stage and the next chapter regarding the coach, I still don’t have a clear idea of who it could be and whether there will be anyone at all,” Djokovic said at a press conference for the film “The Legend”.
Djokovic added: “I try to feel what I like at the moment and what I think is necessary.” This sentence also makes it clear that Djokovic is currently searching for meaning.
One thing is certain: the moment when the statistically best player in the world will finally put his racket aside is getting closer – but it hasn’t arrived yet.
2024-03-29 21:32:02
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