"Roger Federer always seemed completely relaxed, Rafael Nadal trains so intensely you feel he's being chased by 300 lions" - Novak Djokovic's ex-coach

Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic recently gave his thoughts on how the Serb's practice sessions differ from those of his two biggest rivals - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The Croat also recalled his experience of offering technical advice to his former ward over the course of their partnership.

Ivanisevic joined Djokovic's team in mid-2019, following which the latter won nine Major titles. The two parted ways in March this year after a string of poor results from the 24-time Major winner to begin his 2024 season. That said, the former Wimbledon champion certainly had an impact on the World No. 1's game, most evidently on his serve.

Speaking to the German tabloid Blick during a webinar, Goran Ivanisevic recounted Novak Djokovic's practice sessions under his watchful eye. The 52-year-old claimed that the Serb required a high-level training regime to cater to different elements of his game.

Ivanisevic added that the World No. 1 was a different player, using the nature of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's respective practice sessions as a case in point.

"It's very difficult to identify weak points in him. Is it a weakness if he misses a shot after 25 rallies?" Goran Ivanisevic told Blick. "But what we did: We worked a lot on his service, especially on the second serve. There was also the positional play at the net and the volleys. It was about details at this high level."

"This is the case with all top players - and yet they are all different: Roger Federer always seemed completely relaxed in training. And Rafael Nadal? He trains so intensely that you feel like he's being chased by 300 lions."

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"Novak Djokovic yelled at me again and everyone saw it" - Goran Ivanisevic

Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic's last tournament together came at Indian Wells

During the interaction with Blick, Goran Ivanisevic also took a deep dive into his turbulent relationship with Novak Djokovic at certain points of their partnership. The Croat said that the Serb often looked towards him for answers during tough matches, and whenever he wasn't satisfied with one, he would get upset with his coach.

"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," Ivanisevic said. "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."

That said, Ivanisevic admitted in the same breath that his former ward wouldn't let his emotions affect his game for long.

"But at least it was related to me. And after five minutes it shut down again," he added. "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."