"Only one man deserves coach of the year and that is Goran Ivanisevic" - Greg Rusedski on Novak Djokovic's coach's ATP Awards snub

Former British-Canadian player Greg Rusedski recently stated that Novak Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic, is the sole deserving recipient of the Coach of the Year award. His statement came after Ivanisevic was overlooked for the accolade at the 2023 ATP Awards.

Djokovic had an exceptional 2023 under the tutelage of his Croatian coach. He won three Grand Slam titles — the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open, taking his tally of total Grand Slam singles titles to a record 24.

The Serb also secured titles at Adelaide International, Western & Southern Open, Paris Masters, and ATP Finals under Ivanisevic's guidance, and finished the year as the World No. 1. Despite this, Ivanisevic lost the Coach of the Year award at the 2023 ATP Awards to Jannik Sinner's coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi.

Reacting to the news, Rusedski took to social media and stated that the only deserving recipient of the Coach of the Year award was Ivanisevic. Rusedski highlighted the 52-year-old's achievement of nearly guiding Djokovic to a Calendar Slam and playing a crucial role in helping him finish 2023 at the rankings summit.

"Strange one match away from the calendar slam. 24 majors and counting. Darren Cahill has done a great job with Sinner, but only one man deserves coach of the year and that is Goran. Harder to stay at the top than to get there ,especially at 36 years young," Rusedski posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Novak Djokovic was also discontented with the fact that his coach was overlooked for the award. He had earlier taken to his Instagram handle to write:

"Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik. 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."

Novak Djokovic via Instagram stories

Sinner, 22, finished the year as the World No. 4 with a win-loss record of 64-15 and four titles, along with the Davis Cup Finals crown.

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Novak Djokovic: "It's definitely one of the best seasons"

Novak Djokovic with Goran Ivanisevic and team at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals

During a press conference at the 2023 ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic stated that while he has won three out of four Grand Slam tournaments in a single season before, achieving the feat this year while playing a lot less made it stand out.

"It's definitely one of the best seasons. I mean, I had couple of years, I think three times, that I won three out of four slams in a season, like 2011, 2015. In those years, I won more matches. I mean, I played more tournaments. I was really, I mean, feeling very dominant on the tour," he said last month.

The Serb added that despite participating in fewer tournaments in 2023 compared to previous years, he performed exceptionally well. He said he managed to "peak" during the most crucial tournaments, which holds utmost significance for him.

"It's quite different circumstances this year comparing to all the other years because I played, what, 10, 11 tournaments this year. I played very well - least of anybody. I just managed to peak at the right tournaments, at the right time. That's what matters to me really," he added.

Novak Djokovic concluded the year by reaching the milestone of 400 weeks as the World No. 1.