The coach of Novak Djokovic has dismissed suggestions that a wrist injury played any part in his exit from the Australian Open last month.
Goran Ivanisevic, who has worked alongside the world No.1 since 2019, has told Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti that the tennis star was healthy whilst competing in Melbourne. Contradicting recent reports in Sertbia media which claimed that Djokovic was affected by illness heading into his semi-final clash against Jannik Sinner. Djokovic lost in four sets to Sinner, who went on to claim the title. Before that match, he had recorded 33 consecutive wins at the Grand Slam which dated back to 2018.
“Sooner or later Novak had to lose, we were all aware of that,” said Ivanisevic.
“It’s just a pity that it happened this way, but against Sinner if you’re not at 100 percent, you have nothing to look for there. And even when you’re at 100 percent, you can still lose. However, the entire Australian Open was somehow not right for Novak, from the first round onward. But okay, let’s move on, it’s nothing so tragic.”
So what went wrong for the Serbian in his quest for a record 11th Australian Open title? At the start of the season, he did experience some discomfort in his wrist whilst playing at the United Cup. However, Ivanisevic stated that this was not the problem.
“No, nothing bothered him, he was healthy, but it just didn’t work… It can happen to him too, he is flesh and blood. On the other hand, if he was supposed to lose to anyone, I’m glad it was Sinner.” He said.
Djokovic has now lost to Sinner in three out of their four most recent meetings on the Tour. His two other defeats to the Italian were in the group stages of the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup. However, he was victorious when they locked horns in the semi-final stage of the ATP Finals.
According to his mentor, Djokovic is scheduled to return to action next month at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He will be aiming to win the tournament for a sixth time in what will be his first appearance at the event since 2019.
