Novak Djokovic’s former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, dismissed suggestions that there are reasons to panic about the Serbian’s level this year.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner hasn’t played at a very high level this year, at least relative to his standards. He’s made a few good runs, such as the Australian Open and Monte-Carlo Masters semi-final, but he’s yet to win a trophy this year, and the season is almost in May.
He’s also skipping more events than usual, so many have started to wonder whether this might be a sign of decline. There are certainly some who think so, but his former coach, Ivanisevic, certainly isn’t one.
He sat down with Serbian media Sportal and told them that sounding the alarm bells for this most recent slump is silly because he anticipates a very motivated Djokovic unleashing havoc on the ATP Tour in the coming months.
“It’s stupid to even talk about panic. He also won the first title in Rome in 2022. What panic, he is the best in the world, he is not 50th on the ATP Rankings. Everything depends only on him and on how Novak appears on the court.”
Ivanisevic likely speaks from a biased position, which is normal. He spent close to six years closely working with Djokovic, so he’s obviously got an affinity for him. His assumption isn’t even that crazy.
Djokovic will certainly remain motivated to prove himself, especially with the Olympics coming up, and this might just be him preparing for that event as opposed to anything else.
“If the right, focused one appears, then on any surface they play, everyone can pack up and go home. And if the other one appears, then it’s a different story. We know what his goals are, and I think he will be ready for the Olympics.”
