It’s been a while since Novak Djokovic split with his long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic. The Serb took the hard call after a couple of losses in 2024. Now, the World No.1 has revealed that he would not mind continuing without a coach.
Novak Djokovic made this revelation after winning the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year 2024 in Madrid. He was quoted as saying according to The Guardian:
“I am considering that as well, whether I should or shouldn’t have the coach. I had a really good time with Nenad Zimonjić as my coach the last three weeks so we’re talking about continuing and seeing. Let’s see, I’m going to make the decision in the next period.”
Djokovic, however, acknowledged the importance of coaches in his life. He admits that in his 20+ years as a professional, he saw stratospheric success owing to them. However, he also believes that having gained that much experience, he could now potentially afford to not have a coach for the remainder of his playing days.
“I’m not rushing. I feel like playing tennis over 20 years and having a lot of different teams and coaches, it’s not like I think I don’t need a coach at all. I think there’s always value in having that quality team and fitness coach, physio, mental coach. It’s all important. It creates a formula for success and helps you perform better, train better, recover better. Stay on the top for as long as you can. But I think I’m in the stage of my career where I can afford to maybe think having no coach is also an option. Let’s see. I’m going to make my decision soon,” Djokovic added.
Novak Djokovic last participated in the Monte Carlo Masters, where he reached the semifinals. Although he did not win, he had his Davis Cup captain and Serbian star Nenad Zimonjic in his box as his coach. Zimonjic had joined the Djokovic camp ahead of the tournament, but the World No.1 has not yet zeroed down on him for a permanent position in his team despite being full of praise for him.
A Reddit user named r/tennis shared Novak Djokovic’s comments and tennis fans started making comparisons to Roger Federer. The crux of the conversation was Federer having been coachless too for phases in his career. This happened during 2003-2004, when Federer did have a team to take care of him, but was without a coach. Federer won the 2003 Australian Open, the 2003 and 2004 Wimbledon, and the 2004 US Open titles in that time.
While some suggested that it worked well for Federer in the end, others argued that it had some ramifications for him. They believe that had Federer gotten himself a coach early on, he wouldn’t have struggled against the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in their early days.
The one key difference between Federer and Djokovic’s situations is that the latter would go coachless during the end of his career. While Federer was very young and later hired skillful coaches that helped him win 20 Grand Slams, Djokovic has already won 24 Grand Slams and can trust himself enough to go on his own now.
Novak Djokovic Created Record With 5th Laureus World Sports Award
Novak Djokovic won his 5th Laureus World Sports ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ Award, the joint-highest by any tennis player. The record was held by Roger Federer alone, who won it for 4 straight years from 2005 to 2008. He won his 5th title in 2018 after he had a stellar 2017 in his comeback year.
Djokovic won it in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2024. It is a true testament to the 2 greatest tennis players of all time, that they share the summit of most awards won.
Although Rafael Nadal is the only missing piece from the Big Three here, Djokovic and Federer still stand out for their dedication to the sport. Their ability to think for themselves, to return from down-and-out positions and their ability to adapt and reinvent, is just next to none.
The two have also worked very hard on their fitness as Federer played till he was 38 despite his injuries and Djokovic is aiming to better the Swiss in this regard as well. The Serb’s maintenance of a minimal body fat percentage is also an inspiration to many other athletes from various disciplines.
