Goran Ivanisevic admits it hasn’t been plain sailing in the build-up to Novak Djokovic’s historic achievement at the French Open.
The Serbian defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets on Sunday to become the first man to win a 23rd major title. Djokovic has also become the first ATP player to have won each of the major events on three or more occasions, as well as the oldest man to win the French Open title.
The triumph caps off what has been a roller-coaster past few months for the 36-year-old who missed two Masters 1000 events in America due to being unvaccinated against covid-19. Then on the clay he suffered early exits at tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Bosnia before pulling out of the Madrid Open due to an elbow injury. It is easy to forget these setbacks due to his run in the French capital where the only players to take a set off of him were Karen Khachanov and Carlos Alcaraz.
“He has this software in his head that he can switch when a Grand Slam comes,” Ivanisevic told reporters in Paris.
“Grand Slams are a different sport compared to other tournaments. He switches his software. The day we arrived here (in Paris), he was better, he was more motivated and he was more hungry.’
“Every day he played better and better. I thought against Alcaraz for one-and-a-half hours he played unbelievably smart and unbelievable tennis.”
Ivanisevic, who won the 2001 Wimbledon title, joined Djokovic’s team in the summer of 2019 and has remained a prominent member ever since. Since then, he has won eight out of his 23 major titles alongside the Croat.
Speaking during his trophy ceremony, the 36-year-old paid tribute to the effort made by his team and admitted ‘he can be a nightmare’ at times due to his desire to be a perfectionist. Something his mentor also agrees with.
“He’s not an easy guy, let’s put it this way. Especially when something’s not going his way,” Ivanisevic commented.
“But we are here to put our back in and to get beaten. That’s what the team is for. We are here for him to feel better and for him to perform better. Sometimes it is not easy. Sometimes it’s very complicated.’
“It has not been an easy journey. We started in Monte-Carlo, then Banja Luka. Rome was a little better but he was still away from his real form. He was torturing us, taking our nails off.”
Whilst he has endured a roller-coaster of emotions, the 51-year-old is relishing his time with Djokovic who will return to world No.1 on Monday following his latest triumph. He describes the tennis star as a ‘ninja’ on the court due to his athletic movement and believes he is still hungry for even more Grand Slam success in the future.
“He has made me a better coach. I had success before with Marin Cilic and I have been a lot of times on the court with him but on the opposite side,” he explains.
“Every day is a new challenge. He makes you motivated. You have to be motivated more and more every day.’
“Every day it’s something new. A lot of times I disagree, but this is the job. You can’t agree with everything, and we are functioning very well as a team.”
Besides Djokovic, Ivanisevic also has high praise for Alcaraz. The Spaniard was the top seed in Paris and claimed his maiden major title last year at the US Open. He beat Djokovic in their first meeting at the 2022 Madrid Open but lost to him in the semi-finals in Paris.
“He’s fresh air for tennis, how he plays, how he smiles, how he’s happy, how he plays tennis on the court, the ideas….. it is just amazing,” he said of Alcaraz.
“He’s going to be a threat on grass, he’s gonna be a threat on hard court and he’s gonna be a threat everywhere.”
Ivanisevic will now have a short break before his focus switches to the grass. Djokovic has confirmed that he will not be playing in any tournaments leading up to Wimbledon.
