Novak Djokovic's split with Goran Ivanisevic draws attention to concerning trend of Serb's coaching relationship issues during Olympic years
Novak Djokovic ended his long and successful association with Goran Ivanisevic after six years, making him the latest coach the Serb has dismissed during an Olympic year.
Goran Ivanisevic joined Novak Djokovic's team in 2018 and became the World No. 1's full-time coach in 2022. Under his guidance, the Serb won 12 Grand Slam titles (four Australian Open, four Wimbledon Championships, two Roland Garros, and two US Open). Three of these Grand Slams came last year, helping Ivanisevic earn a nomination for the ATP Coach of the Year award.
While announcing his split from the Croat, the 36-year-old recalled their ups and downs and the strong bond they forged over the years. Ivanisevic's departure came ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will be played from July 26 to August 11 in Paris, France, and this marks an interesting trend of Novak Djokovic parting ways with his coaches ahead of and around the time of the Olympic Games.
German tennis legend Boris Becker was the first coach in this trend. Becker joined Djokovic's team as its head coach in December 2013 and mentored him to 25 titles, including six Grand Slams and 14 Masters-1000 trophies. This collaboration ended in July 2016 by mutual agreement ahead of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. The Belgrade native would unceremoniously bow out in the first round in Rio against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the eventual silver medalist.
Slovak coach Marian Vajda, who had been with Novak Djokovic for nearly 15 years, was the second person the Serb sacked in an Olympic year. Vajda had been coaching the 24-time Grand Slam champion since 2006 and briefly parted ways with him in 2017. They reunited in April 2018 and remained together until December 2021.
With Vajda by his side, Djokovic won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, making Vajda the most successful coach in Grand Slam history. His departure came after the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2021 after a COVID-19 delay, where he finished fourth.
While there are no particular reasons behind the Serb making changes to his coaching team around the time of the Olympics, the trend is a reflection of him trying out new things to prepare for the one tournament where he hasn't succeeded yet.
Novak Djokovic's only Olympic medal came in 2008
While he has achieved great accolades at every level of the ATP tour, the Olympics has been the one tournament where Djokovic hasn't tasted success. He has played in four Summer Olympics and made his debut at the competition in 2008. The Serb had won his first Major title in Australia earlier that year and was seeded No. 3 at the Summer Games in Beijing, China.
The then-20-year-old defeated USA's Robert Ginepri, Germany's Rainer Schuttler, Russia's Mikhail Youzhny, and France's Gael Monfils before losing to Spain's Rafael Nadal in the semifinal contest. He faced USA's James Blake for the bronze medal and defeated the former World No. 4 in straight sets to win his sole Olympic medal to date.
The 36-year-old finished fourth at the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Games and lost in the first round at the Rio 2016 Games.