Coach fired by Novak Djokovic drops major hint about who he’ll work with next
Goran Ivanisevic will be looking for a new player to coach after parting ways with Novak Djokovic.
Goran Ivanisevic has shed light on which players he’d want to work with after parting ways with Novak Djokovic. The world No. 1 announced their sudden split last month after five years together. Ivanisevic, who also previously coached three other ATP stars, is already planning when he will get back on the circuit.
Djokovic and Ivanisevic enjoyed a successful relationship from the word go. After being scouted by the Serb in 2018, Ivanisevic first appeared in his box during Wimbledon 2019 and Djokovic went on to lift the trophy.
The 37-year-old made history while working with Ivanisevic, breaking the record for all-time weeks as the world No. 1 and becoming the first player in the Open Era to win 24 Grand Slam titles. But they called time on their partnership after a conversation in Miami at the end of last month.
Ivanisevic has now shared a hint about who he’ll want to work with after becoming a free agent in the coaching world. But the 2001 Wimbledon winner isn’t going to get back on tour immediately. “I said I won’t do anything until September,” he told Sportal.
“I’m resting, I’ll go with my son to the European Football Championship, then Umag, then the summer… I’m going back to the Tour for sure, but I’ll see with whom. It will probably be a young tennis player.”
A young player will be new ground for Ivanisevic, who previously worked with Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic – all former top 10 players who had been on the circuit for years before the Croat joined their teams.
As for Djokovic, the 36-year-old is still without an official coach but he has been training under the guidance of former doubles No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic, who accompanied him at the recent Monte-Carlo Masters. And Ivanisevic is all for their partnership, even if it’s an unofficial one.
The 52-year-old added: “Ziki and I are great friends, we talk to each other every day. He doesn’t need a better man than him. They know each other very well, the culture is the same, Ziki was his selector, he knows his soul, and he needs a man who knows him well. I’m glad they’re doing well, I’ll be the one cheering them on. I repeat, we will be friends forever.”
