Goran Ivanisevic thinks Novak Djokovic has already found the right person to be his next coach. He thinks Nenad Zimonjic is the right person to take over the job he left open.
Just under five years after they first started working together, Djokovic told everyone last week that he and Ivanisevic were no longer working together. Ten Grand Slams, two ATP Finals titles, seven ATP Masters 1000 titles, and many individual records were won together.
There was no reason given for the breakup; the 24-time Grand Slam winner only said, “Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago.” He also said, “Our friendship was always rock solid, but our on-court chemistry had its ups and downs.”
Later, Djokovic said that he doesn’t know who his next teacher will be or even if he will hire one at all. He has, however, begun working with Zimonjic, who is also from Serbia.
The three-time Grand Slam men’s doubles winner has worked with Djokovic many times before. He coached Serbia to victory at the 2020 ATP Cup and was the European country’s Davis Cup captain for two terms.
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He thinks Zimonjic would be a great coach for Djokovic.
“I’m not sure how long Novak plans to keep playing, but the best person for him right now is with him—Ziki,” he told Sport Klub (through Tennis Majors).
“I love him and consider him a close friend. We’ve been through a lot together. What’s most important is that he knows Novak very well. He knows a lot about tennis.At the time, Novak doesn’t need to meet someone new and get to know them. Ten days go by, Novak “goes crazy,” and the new teacher doesn’t know what’s going on.
“I think that only men from the Balkans can coach a Balkan player. Anybody else can coach a Balkan player.” She is Slovak, and Marian and I are close and know each other well. Boris Becker worked well with Novak too, but his tennis knowledge is through the roof.
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Zimonjic, who won five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, has already gone to Monte Carlo with Djokovic for next week’s ATP Masters 1000 event. Ivanisevic talked about some of the 47-year-old’s skills.
“Ziki can teach him how to play tennis,” he said. Although Novak already knows everything, it will be nice for him to hear the same thing from someone else in a different way. This is because Ziki worked with Novak in the Davis Cup and really understands how he thinks.
