Goran Ivanisevic has given insight into what it is like coaching Novak Djokovic ahead of being inducted into the Tennis Hall Of Fame.
The former Wimbledon champion will be recognised for his own achievements in tennis this weekend in Newport.
However the Croatian is now coaching someone who will definitely be in the hall of fame at some point and that is newly-crowned six time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.
Under Ivanisevic’s recent guidance, the world number one has claimed more history and recently equalled the record for most grand slam singles titles won as he won a 20th at SW19.
In a recent interview with Tennis.com Ivanisevic revealed what it is like coaching the world number one, “To be honest, it is very stressful,” Ivanisevic admitted.
“People think my job with Novak is easy, but it is not. I give you my job for one week and you see if you are going to give me back my job or not. It is great to work with such a great athlete and player, but very demanding also.
“A final is not good enough. You need to win. We only count victories. We only count Slams. That is huge stress. But I choose that. I love it. It pushes me to learn more and be a better coach and a better person. I really enjoy it.”
Meanwhile the Croatian is looking forward to recognising his own achievements as he is going to be inducted into the Tennis hall of fame. Although he is nervous for the occasion, Ivanisevic hopes people remember him as someone who entertained the public through his tennis, “I could have been better, I could have been worse. They say I could have won more Grand Slams. Yeah, I agree. But I could have also not won Wimbledon and not been here,” the former grand slam champion admitted.
“But I think they’re going to remember that I was never boring and there was always something happening. Even I didn’t know what would happen. I’ve already changed my speech seven million times. But whatever speech there are a lot of people I’m going to thank. Because of them, I am here now.
“After 20 years, if they still remember my final Wimbledon, they’re always going to remember the three Gorans, one Goran, two Gorans. But they are going to remember the Goran who changed lives, who made them happy, who made them cry and really entertained them.”
As Ivanisevic prepares for a big weekend, Novak Djokovic continues his preparations to achieve the golden slam as he looks to win Olympic Gold in a couple of weeks time.