Goran Ivanisevic: Wimbledon winner thanks to Novak Djokovic?
Novak Djokovic hired an old friend for the Wimbledon tournament 2019 - Goran Ivanisevic. Maybe because he still owes him something.
by Florian Goosmann from Wimbledon
last edit: Jul 03, 2019, 06:49 pm
"He was my hero," revealed Novak Djokovic after his opening win on Monday . He had met Ivanisevic when he was 13 or 14 when he was training with Niki Pilic - who was also Ivanisevic's coach - and maybe Djokovic also played a role in Ivanisevic's preparation for the 2001 Wimbledon tournament, which he did at the time won sensationally . "He was in Niki Pilics Tennis Academy in Germany, where I spent a lot of time between 12 and 16," added Djokovic. "In the famous year 2001, when he got the wildcard for Wimbledon, he came over to the Academy for a few weeks. I was allowed to go to him during the training session, to bring him some snacks because he was very hungry from all the training.
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Small snacks for the big win
He spent every day Ivanisevic trained on the court: watched, learned, supported ... "Niki, who was something like my tennis father, had a huge impact on his career and life." The connection to Ivanisevic was there from an early age.
So did Djokovic really do his part to ensure that Ivanisevic finally won the longed-for title in his fourth Wimbledon final? "Yes, I think these snacks made the difference for him at Wimbledon," said Djokovic - and laughed.
And who knows: Maybe 2019 is now the year in which Ivanisevic can reciprocate ...