"It was us against the rest of the world" - Novak Djokovic's ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic proud of 'not easy' journey alongside Serb

Goran Ivanisevic recently opened up on going through testing times alongside Novak Djokovic during their five-year-long association.

Ivanisevic joined Djokovic's team as a subordinate to Marian Vajda a few days before the Wimbledon Championships in 2019. The Serb famously defeated Roger Federer in the final that year to win his 16th Grand Slam title and first with Ivanisevic.

The duo won eight more Majors together before parting ways on March 27 this year. Ivanisevic recently sat down with The Tennis Podcast to reflect on his journey with the Serb.

Ivanisevic recounted facing backlash for the Adria Tour during the COVID-19 pandemic and a default at the US Open 2020 in the 24-time Grand Slam champion's company.

"All these five years, I'm most proud that it was not easy five years, meaning not with our relation but with all the Corona and all the sh*t happening in Novak’s nation, then 2020, this - when he hit that lineswoman, we were disqualified, so it was [us] against the rest of the world," the Croat said [at 3:04].

He further dubbed the World No. 1's 2023 season as the best in tennis history, saying:

"It's not easy but I'm proud that I stick and be there for him and he managed to overcome everything and made unbelievable results, especially last year was one of the best, if not the best, tennis year in the history."

Djokovic won three Grand Slams, made it to the final of Wimbledon, lifted the Year-end Championship, and earned a Year-end World No. 1 finish in 2023.

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"Novak Djokovic improved his serve; Volleys… much better" - Goran Ivanisevic lists technical gains Serb made under him

Novak Djokovic

In the aforementioned episode of The Tennis Podcast, Goran Ivanisevic also listed a couple of improvements that Novak Djokovic made as his student. Ivanisevic claimed the latter bettered his serve and earned more points at the net.

"This guy is a genius, I mean, his brain will work in different way but I think he improved his serve, first and second. I told always that his serve was always underestimated a lot. Volleys… much better, his position at the net, won a lot of big points last year coming to the net," Ivanisevic said.

The Serb hasn't had a desirable start to his 2024 season as he failed to win the Australian Open in the first place. Also, he fell against a lucky loser in Luca Nardi in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters. His next stop is the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he will compete as the first seed.