- Novak Djokovic suffered a surprising loss to Jannik Sinner during his second match at the ATP finals
- Reportedly, his coach didn’t see Djokovic for an entire day following the loss
- However, Djokovic managed to return and defeat Sinner in the tournament’s final match on Sunday
Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, disclosed that he didn’t catch sight of the World No1 for an entire day following his loss to Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic had initially entered Turin as the favorite to win the ATP finals. However, he barely managed to win against Holger Rune in his first match, and then eventually succumbed to Sinner in a final set tie-break.
This outcome left Djokovic with uncertain chances of making it to the semi-finals. He reacted to the loss by isolating himself from his team, leaving Ivanisevic skeptical about his participation in the final group match against Hubert Hurkacz until the last moment.
‘Tuesday night ended late. On Wednesday we didn’t even see him all day,” Ivanisevic told Sport.
‘We didn’t know what was happening until Thursday. We were in the locker room and we didn’t know if we were going to have to go home or if we had to go do the warm-up.’
According to Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon champion himself, Djokovic is challenging to handle after a loss. However, when asked if he was upset with Djokovic, Ivanisevic replied, “Who am I to be mad at Novak? He is the best in history. He only makes me angry when he yells at us for no reason. He is number one and he always wants more, to improve all the time.”
After being absent for 24 hours, Djokovic did participate in the match against Hurkacz. However, it wasn’t until the knockout rounds that Djokovic displayed his best. He defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals and secured victory over Sinner in the final, winning his seventh ATP finals title, surpassing Roger Federer’s tally of six.
Ivanisevic observed a noticeable shift in Djokovic’s mindset over the weekend, which signaled his unstoppable force on the court.
“Of course, he changed once he was qualified for the semifinals,” Ivanisevic said. “On Saturday I saw it in his eyes, how he approached the locker room, how he trained. In the first point with Alcaraz he was already raising his fist. In his eyes you could see his change in mentality. He was going for the tournament. And when the real Djokovic is on the court, at that moment there is no one who can play with him.”
Jessica Roberts serves up the latest in the world of tennis. With a love for the racket sport, she reports on tennis matches, player rankings, and Grand Slam events, ensuring readers stay informed about the tennis world.