To say that he admires his foal would still be far from reality. Goran Ivanisevic had no words strong enough to describe the performance of Novak Djokovic, winner this Sunday of his 10th Australian Open and his 22nd Grand Slam title thanks to his victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas. And this despite a thigh injury at the start of the fortnight which could (should?) have sent him home much earlier than expected.
“97% of the players, given the MRI on Saturday before the start of the tournament, would have gone directly to the referee’s office to forfeit. But not him, commented the former Croatian player. Novak comes from elsewhere, his brain works differently (…) He is incredible. »
Still “two, three years” ahead of him
A self-transcendence that is well worth a few shots of anger, like when Djoko started shouting at him in the middle of the second round. “I don’t care if it helps him. I told him several times: ‘you can tell me anything, but then you have to win because otherwise you’re going to have problems’”, joked Ivanisevic. ;
As for the fight with Rafael Nadal to know who will be the most successful player in Grand Slam history, it still promises great battles. “The match between Spain and Serbia is like a handball match. We are at 22-22. And now the year is going to be interesting, the Croatian saliva. There, we were at Novak (in Melbourne) and now we are going to Rafa (at Roland-Garros). »
At 35, Novak Djokovic has “undoubtedly two, three years” left to amass more Grand Slam titles, said the coach. Carlos Moya would certainly like to say the same with Nadal.