"Did Nadal and Federer complain like this when they didn’t win?" - Novak Djokovic's dig at Coach of the Year snub disappoints fans

Novak Djokovic has landed in controversy once again, this time thanks to his dig at the ATP over Goran Ivanisevic losing out on the Coach of the Year award. The award, instead, went to Jannik Sinner's coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, who helped the Italian break into the top 4 of the ATP rankings.

Djokovic had a spectacular season of his own, winning three of the four Grand Slams and ending the year as the World No. 1. Taking to social media after his coach's snub, the 24-time Grand Slam champion lamented that perhaps he had to win all four Slams in the year for Ivanisevic to be considered for the award.

"Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik," Djokovic wrote. "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 and WTF (World Tour Finals) and making history of this sport is not enough, my dear coach."

While many fans were delighted by his reaction, some were disappointed, as they didn't think that it was apt for a veteran of his stature to comment like that. As expected, some of them invoked Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the other two members of the 'Big 3,' to suggest that Djokovic sounded petty when he complained about not winning an award.

Some fans also pointed out that the Coach of the Year award does not always have to go to the coach of the best player. They reasoned that Cahill and Vagnozzi were deserving of the honor for helping Sinner make massive improvements to his game.

"Did Nadal and Federer complain like this when they didn’t win an award? Novax is disgrace to the sport of tennis and I have no respect for him," one fan tweeted.

"Gracious as always, raining on a young players moment," another said.

Here are a few more reactions from fans:

Screengrab from Reddit

Screengrab from Reddit

Screengrab from Reddit

Screengrab from Reddit

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"Novak Djokovic is a genius; he's one of a kind" - Goran Ivanisevic

Novak Djokovic

In an interview earlier this year, Goran Ivanisevic lavished praise on his ward Novak Djokovic, calling him a "genius" and a one-of-a-kind athlete.

The Croat considers Djokovic's feat of winning 24 Grand Slams, the most in the Open Era, one of the biggest achievements in not only tennis but all of sports.

"He's a genius. He's one of kind,” Ivanisevic said. “There are not too many people in this world like him sport-wise. This is one of the biggest achievements in sporting history. We're not talking about tennis. We are talking generally in sport."

He also credited the Serb's passion for tennis and winning:

"There are no excuses. He always try to find a way how to win, how to fight, even when he's not feeling well, injured, not injured."