"After 5 minutes it shut down, Novak Djokovic was able to let everything out" - Ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic on Serb 'yelling' at him in matches

Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic recently opened up about the Serb 'yelling' at him during his matches. He also talked about the World No.1's ability to quickly move past his anger on the court and focus on his match.

Djokovic and Ivanisevic began working together in 2019, with the Croat eventually taking over the role of head coach in 2022. Together, they achieved remarkable success, with the Serb winning nine Grand Slam titles under Ivanisevic's tutelage.

However, the 2024 season has been uncharacteristically disappointing for Djokovic, as he has yet to secure a title. Despite their long-standing successful partnership, the Serb decided to part ways with Ivanisevic earlier this year.

He has since been spotted working with fellow Serb Nenad Zimonjic, who made his debut appearance in the World No.1's player box at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.

In an interview with Blick, Goran Ivanisevic talked about Novak Djokovic's behavior during matches. He mentioned that the 36-year-old would often seek his opinion and advice, and whenever Ivanisevic couldn't respond, it would "upset" the former who would then engage in heated conversations with him.

"That happened again and again. Then he yelled at me again and everyone saw it. Sometimes I could understand him well in the stadium, but sometimes not. Maybe he wanted to know something about the service - and then I told him something about the clouds that were just over the arena. Then Novak got upset with me," Ivanisevic said.

Ivanisevic revealed that despite these moments of tension, the 24-time Grand Slam champion would quickly let go of his anger and return to their usual dynamic within five minutes. This ability to move past disagreements swiftly was something that Ivanisevic appreciated.

"But at least it was related to me. And after five minutes it shut down again. He was able to let everything out and then he was free again. Sometimes in tennis you need a quick shock to hit a reset button in your head. I think the mental component is the most important factor in this sport," he added.

"When you train Novak Djokovic, anything other than winning the title at any tournament is a failure" - Goran Ivanisevic

United Cup 2024

During the aforementioned interview, Goran Ivanisevic revealed that Novak Djokovic is extremely demanding and considers anything less than winning the title at a tournament as a failure.

“Well, when you train Novak Djokovic, anything other than winning the title at any tournament is a failure. That's a lot of pressure to deal with. Novak is very demanding. Something new has to happen every day, he always wants to get better," Ivanisevic said.

Despite these high expectations, Ivanisevic expressed that he had loved his time working with the World No.1.

"With Novak it's like this: you only have a few seconds to explain something to him. He then wants to know 15 things from you at once, but you only have three seconds to do it. So you have to try to summarize everything in some clever way. It can be hard, but I enjoyed it with Novak," he added.

Novak Djokovic last competed at the 2024 Italian Open where he fell to Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets in the third round. He is next scheduled to compete at the French Open.