Novak Djokovic’s former coach reveals the Serb is not player who impressed him the most
Novak Djokovic’s former coach Riccardo Piatti has revealed that Maria Sharapova was the player who impressed him the most of all the tennis stars he has worked with.
The esteemed Italian coach described working with Sharapova as “really special” and believes she was the player he “had the most success with” despite not achieving good results.
Piatti coached an 18-year-old Djokovic from late 2005 until June 2006 and later claimed he knew Djokovic could reach the very top when working with him.
“When we worked together I thought he could become number one in the world at the level of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer because Novak always worked hard as a kid, with the family, and he was very focused and determined to be world number one,” he told Reuters in 2011.
“He battled so hard and is still fighting hard and I think he is deserving his success.”
Piatti coached five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova in 2019 and 2020 at the end of the Russian star’s illustrious career. He has worked with a host of top ATP players, including Jannik Sinner, Ivan Ljubicic, Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet and Borna Coric.
In an interview with TV Monaco, Piatti explained why Sharapova was the one who impressed him most out of all his former players.
“Unfortunately, the player who impressed me the most is the one I trained the least, I trained [her] for around ten months. It’s a woman and it’s Maria Sharapova,” divulged the 65-year-old.
“She was the one who impressed me the most because she was the one who knew me best and because she was a woman. I have coached mostly men, Djokovic, Ljubicic etc.
“But with Sharapova, it was really very special because she was nearing the end of her career and she wanted to experience another side of tennis. I had this opportunity to work with her and honestly we spent ten, eleven months together during which I was able to appreciate her way of reasoning, of thinking.
“She has priorities and she knows them very well. She devotes herself enormously to work. There was a lot of affinity with her and her entire team.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get any results, it’s a bit strange because she’s the only player I didn’t get good results with but she’s the one I had the most success with.”
Piatti also lauded the achievements of Djokovic and backed the 36-year-old to continue dominating, while declaring that winning all four Grand Slams in a season is possible.
“Until he loses his motivation, he can do whatever he wants. For two years, I have believed that he can achieve the calendar Grand Slam,” the Italian said.
“He got closer. Physically, he’s probably the best. Mentally, for the best of five sets, he is very prepared. We have to see what his level of motivation is for the future.”
Djokovic is competing for Serbia at the 2024 United Cup, where he downed China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match of the new season.
