Novak Djokovic has hit out after his coach Goran Ivanisevic did not receive the ATP award for Coach of the Year, with Jannik Sinner’s team receiving the honour instead.
Novak Djokovic has been coached by Ivanisevic since 2019, winning a total of nine Grand Slam titles in that period.
The Serb has had one of his best years in 2023, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open, with his only Grand Slam defeat coming in the Wimbledon final.
On top of this, Djokovic has also won two Masters 1000 titles and the year-end ATP Finals to cement his place as year-end world No.1 for a record eighth time.
History-maker. Record-breaker ⭐️⭐️
🏆 @DjokerNole #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/nXCkjBVIKC
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 19, 2023
Despite all of this, it was world No.4 Jannik Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, who received the award after helping the Italian enjoy his best ever season.
And Djokovic has released a statement on Instagram after the announcement, “Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik.
“Goran, I guess we need to win 4/4 Slams in order for you to maybe (just maybe) be considered coach of the year. Winning Year End #1, 3 GS [Grand Slams] and WTF [World Tour Finals] and making history of this sport is not enough, my dear coach.”
It is the second consecutive year that Ivanisevic has been nominated for the award, with Carlos Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero receiving the honour last year.
The only previous coach of Djokovic’s to receive this award was Marian Vajda back in 2018, however Ivanisevic is yet to follow suit.
Inside the baseline…
It is understandable why Djokovic feels this way after all of his teams success over the past year, but the previous winners of this award may provide some explanation. Some of the former winners include the coaches of Cameron Norrie, Andrey Rublev and Kevin Anderson, suggesting that the award is usually given to coaches who have helped players jump to new heights. This is always going to be difficult for Djokovic’s coaches, as there is not much more he can do to excel.
