Novak Djokovic told he is ‘crazy’ by former coach in honest retirement verdict after Olympics win
Goran Ivanisevic has declared it would not surprise him to see Novak Djokovic competing at the 2028 Olympics after his gold medal triumph in Paris.
The 2001 Wimbledon champion labelled Djokovic “crazy” and backed the Serbian to keep playing “for a long time” as he described him as “one of the greatest athletes of all time.”
Ivanisevic coached Djokovic between June 2019 and March this year, helping the tennis legend win nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles during a highly successful partnership.
Djokovic delivered a sensational performance to defeat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a thrilling gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.
The 37-year-old has now won every big title in tennis, having also won all four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals and all nine Masters 1000 tournaments on multiple occasions.
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In an interview with Tennis Majors, Ivanisevic asserted that Djokovic remains unbeatable beat when fully motivated as he discussed his display in the Olympic final.
“Only a crazy person would say that he doesn’t have it in him anymore,” said the former world No 2.
“When he really wants it, nobody can beat him, regardless of who is across the net. He was smart, he played aggressively and hit every shot with conviction.
“Alcaraz hits hard, but Novak hits even harder! I think that surprised Carlos, made him a bit nervous. It is easier said than done, but that’s the key – to make Alcaraz nervous and to force him into some errors.
“That’s what happened in the second set tie break – Alcaraz knew that he would be punished for a shorter ball, and he made some errors. It’s not easy to pull off what Novak did, but again, he wanted it so much.
“Novak didn’t show up in the Wimbledon finals, but here you could tell, if they stayed for five more hours on that court, the outcome would have been the same. Novak was flying, Novak was dancing.
“People forgot that this was his first Olympics final, he felt that this is it, that he has to seize this opportunity. Although, considering how crazy he is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in Los Angeles in 2028 as well (laughs).”
Ivanisevic added: “We’ll watch him for a long time, they can’t get rid of him! In my opinion, he is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Whether he is top five, top three or top two, that’s the matter of opinion, but he is up there.”
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