Novak Djokovic has left the United States after a month-long stay in the country. But instead of going back to his home town of Monte Carlo, Djokovic opted to go to his home country, Serbia. The consummate professional that he is, the World No.1 almost immediately got down to practice on a clay court ahead of a gruelling clay swing. However, the location of the practice was fascinating as well as the fact that Goran Ivanisevic was nowhere to be seen in the video or pictures that have emerged on social media.
Just a day or two after being shot on camera practising in Serbia, Novak Djokovic announced himself on social media that he would no longer be having Wimbledon 2001 men’s singles champion, Goran Ivanisevic as his coach. Djokovic had a special message for him, which suggests that both of them have parted on good terms and will remain good friends outside the sport.
Under Goran Ivanisevic’s coaching since 2018, Novak Djokovic mounted one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history. At the age of 31 after career-threatening injuries, the World No.1 bounced back to win the Wimbledon and US Open in the same year. He followed that up with the Australian Open win and a successful Wimbledon title defence in 2019.
Apart from those big wins, Novak Djokovic went on to win 8 more Grand Slam titles with Goran Ivanisevic. Djokovic’s last title win was at the US Open 2023 and his last ATP title win under the Croatian’s coaching, was at the ATP Finals 2023.
Novak Djokovic was pictured with Nenad Zimonjic, his Davis Cup captain for Serbia alongwith his team in Belgrade. Could it mean that Zimonjic will play a more important role in Djokovic’s career in place of Ivanisevic?
Novak Djokovic picks Zlatibor over Monte Carlo for clay practice
While some Novak Djokovic fans claim that he was recently in Belgrade, there are others who have claimed that as per the video, he was practicing in Zlatibor. Zlatibor is a small town in Serbia itself, which is said to be a 2 and a half hours drive by road from Belgrade approximately. It is a possibility that Djokovic trained separately at both the places with his team.
And yet, Zlatibor is another example of how Novak Djokovic stands out from the rest even at the age of 36 when it comes to preparations.
Zlatibor is renowned in that region for being a skiing town. And Djokovic’s love for skiing is no secret, so it is likely that the Serb picked that place to also have some more downtime as well as get his flexibility in place by enjoying what he loves to do. The weather too there is expected to be cooler.
But more than that, Zlatibor shows again that Novak Djokovic is one player who prefers his privacy and places with more of natural beauty and open spaces with respect to staying in and not be disturbed. Djokovic loves his meditation and different styles of training, which require serenity and him having to be by himself. It worked for the World No.1 at the US Open 2023 when instead of what most players opt for, he went to reside in a private estate worth $40 million outside New York City for 2 weeks, which was enclosed and yet had all the different amenities and facilities which he looks out for.
While arguably Novak Djokovic could have had all he wanted back ‘home’ in Monte Carlo, the only possibility of not being there is to not have distractions physically such as of children, caretakers, his employees, business team etc. while he wishes to regain his golden touch from the 2023 season.
