Goran Ivanisevic already had a lot of experience as a coach of tennis stars before he joined Novak Djokovic’s team. Now, the former world No. 2 is revealing some of the challenges he faced when he led the training team of stars Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych.

He mentioned that he had the most struggles with Raonic, who he said should have gotten a psychiatrist instead of a coach. He felt that the partnership with the Canadian player lacked proper communication. In fact, he described the feeling of working with Raonic as similar to talking to a “wall.”

He was less harsh with Berdych, who he worked with in the last few years of his professional career. He narrated how whenever he suggested something to the Czech player that he would just reply that he is unable to accomplish it.

Raonic, Berdych’s struggles

Despite reaching a career peak of no. 3 in 2016, the past few years have been challenging for Raonic. In the past two years alone, he changed coaches three times. Now, former ATP player Fabrice Santoro is his head coach.

Berdych, on the other hand, faced a major back injury for much of 2018. The former world no. 4 eventually decided to retire this year after suffering first round defeats in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Ivanisevic’s other previous work

Arguably, the Croatian’s biggest achievement as a coach is helping compatriot Marin Cilic win the 2014 U.S. Open. During that time, Cilic won over Japanese player Kei Nishikori in the final match. Back then, Cilic was notable for being the lowest-ranked seed (he was 14th) to win the entire tournament in 12 years.

Ivanisevic joined Djokovic’s coaching team in June, just before he embarked on Wimbledon 2019. The Serbian later on won the tournament, giving him his 16th Grand Slam trophy. So far, the Croatian coach seems to be doing well with the world no.2’s coaching team.

Ivanisevic reveals Djokovic’s 2020 plans

Meanwhile, Ivanisevic has announced some of Djokovic’s plans in the major tournaments in the 2020 tennis calendar. He explained how the training arrangement will be for the Serbian player, considering he also has Czech coach Marian Vajda on the team.

According to Zurnal, the two coaches have reached an agreement on dividing the tournaments between them. This is because Djokovic only wants to bring one coach with him. Vajda is going to lead the coaching for the world no. 2 in the Australian Open and French Ope. The Croatian coach will then take over at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Ivanisevic also disclosed that Djokovic will already start training for next year’s first batch of tournaments by November 9. They will then fly to Abu Dhabi for an exhibition and then spend the holiday break in Dubai.

Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ranked no.2, Djokovic played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to bow to Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 in the Round Robin in London.

This year Djokovic has a 54-11 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.

Novak Djokovic

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