By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday March 2, 2021
Coach Goran Ivanisevic is proud of Novak Djokovic for his latest Grand Slam title, and in an exclusive interview with Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo for Tennis Majors, the Croatian shares his feelings on Djokovic’s 18th major title.
Ivanisevic says compares the media’s treatment of the Serb over the last few years to a horror movie.
"Everything started with the Adria Tour; they were after him even before that, but in the last year it seemed to me as if I am watching that film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Ivanisevic said. "Why is he being treated that way? Probably because of his background, people from Balkans are always looked at differently; also, Novak is not afraid to speak his mind and to fight for causes he believes in. What happened at the US Open, it was as if everyone was glad because that kind of shit happened to him. In Australia he stood up for his fellow players and again – let’s kick Djokovic because he is the only one to speak up, everyone else stays silent. Throughout my career I have witnessed players doing all sorts of things, but nobody got the kind of treatment Novak does."
Ivanisevic says that he came away more impressed than ever with Djokovic’s mental toughness after he watched what the World No.1 had to go through on the daily basis to recover from his abdomen injury in Melbourne.
“I have never met such a mental rock like him, I think he is one of the mentally toughest athletes in the world, not just tennis players,” he said. “When everyone is writing him off, he somehow finds a new source of energy; I can see how much effort he puts into that and how complicated sometimes it can be. After the injury, I was there when the doctors told him what had happened and what the risks are if he keeps playing. He was told it could get worse, but he made a conscious decision saying: “I will do whatever it takes to try to win this Slam.”
Djokovic is currently celebrating his 310th week as the ATP’s No.1 ranked player, and he’ll break the record next week when he passes Roger Federer for most week’s at No.1. With that milestone ticked off, Djokovic has recently said that he'll focus his efforts primarily on the Grand Slams in the years to come.
Ivanisevic says that Djokovic may sit out until the clay season begins, but it really depends on how his injury heals.
“Now it depends on the injury as well, but there is no need to rush it. The only tournament that he would play is maybe Miami. I think his next MRI is in two weeks, so we will see. There is no need to take any risks, I would rather see him one hundred per cent ready for the clay season in order to try to go after the Roland-Garros title once more.”