TENNIS
Novak Djokovic surprised with Goran Ivanisevic not being named as coach of the year
Serbian Tennis player Novak Djokovic seems to be surprised as his coach Goran Ivanisevic missed out on the ATP Coach of the Year award. The latter was among the four nominees for the award, which is voted for by ATP coaches. In the end, it was given to Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, who helped Jannik Sinner enjoy a career-best year.
Sinner won his first Masters 1000 title, reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, made the final of the Nitto ATP Finals, and capped it off by leading Italy to Davis Cup glory. He finished the season as No. 4 in the world, having started it at No. 15.
Meanwhile, Djokovic had one of the best seasons of his career as he won three Grand Slam titles and the ATP Finals. He expressed his surprise for his coach not being named as the best coach.
Guess Goran needs to win 4/4 slams: Novak Djokovic
“Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
In October, Ivanisevic spoke about the challenges of trying to keep Djokovic motivated after so much success during his career.
“It is not easy to motivate him because he has already won everything, but we have a way,” he said.
“Many times we don’t agree, but it’s good to argue on the court. I love this job. Work can only be done if you love it and have the support of your family. If you don’t know how to deal with stress, which is always present, then you can’t do your job.”