NOVAC Djokovic is the undisputed men’s tennis GOAT, having won an incredible 24 Grand Slams in the most competitive era in the history of the sport.
But who is Goran Ivanisevic — the man behind much of that success?
The Mega AgencyNovak Djokovic training with Goran Ivanisevic at the RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia on January 2, 2024[/caption]
Who is Novak Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic?
Goran Simun Ivanisevic was born on September 13, 1971 in Split, Croatia.
He is the only wildcard to ever win a men’s singles tennis Grand Slam.
Goran turned pro in 1988, making a name for himself by stunning Boris Becker in the first round of the 1990 French Open, before climbing to a career-high No.2 in the world in 1994 and 1997.
But despite four final appearances at Wimbledon and making it to the last four a further two times, he only managed to reach the semi-finals at one other Grand Slam away from the All England Club — the 1996 US Open in a record-breaking season, during which he hit a whopping 1,477 aces.
Ivanisevic reached two French Open doubles finals, and also won singles and doubles bronze medals while flying the flag for Croatia at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
But at one point it looked like his career was going to be one of so close yet so far on the biggest stage.
After being defaulted from a match in Brighton in 2000 for smashing all three of his rackets and having none left to carry on, he even said: “At least when I’ve finished playing tennis, they’ll remember me for something.”
But just eight months later, Ivanisevic’s wonderful run to Wimbledon glory etched his name into tennis history for good, earning him a place in the Hall of Fame.
And just weeks after his Grand Slam glory, Ivanisevic was given a short-term contract at his boyhood football club — Hajduk Split.
He said after signing: “I had two dreams in my life. One was to win Wimbledon. The other was to play once for Hajduk Split.”
And the manager at the time, Nenad Gracan, commented: “His ability is close to professional level.
“I’ve asked him to come to training and promised to put him in the team against Dinamo.”
At one point it was suggested Goran might play in Hajduk’s Champions League qualifier against Ferencvaros.
Ivanisevic said upon signing: “The game against Ferencvaros is important for the club and it depends on the result whether I can play or not.
“I would like to play in the Croatian league. The derby at home to Dinamo seems nice. Three minutes would satisfy me.”
Ultimately he never played against Dinamo, but did play with the Croatia national team at Dinamo’s Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb when he took on the World XI with Croatia’s 1998 World Cup semi-final team in Zvonimir Boban’s retirement match.
Ivanisevic even managed to get on the scoresheet as the Croats were beaten 2-1 in the 2002 fixture.
When did Goran Ivanisevic retire from tennis?
Goran retired from playing tennis in 2004.
But since then he has enjoyed plenty of success as a tennis coach, leading Marin Cilic to the 2014 US Open, before working with Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic.
And since 2019 he has been in Novak Djokovic’s camp, helping the legendary Serb to a whole host of incredible records — including the most Grand Slam singles titles and most weeks as world No.1.
What titles has Goran Ivanisevic won?
Ivanisevic became of the most popular Wimbledon winners of all time when he defeated Pat Rafter 9-7 in the fifth set of the famous final of 2001.
The giant Croatian defeated a stellar list of opponents en route to his fourth Wimbledon final — Fredrik Jonsson, Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick, Greg Rusedski, Marat Safin and Tim Henman.
But after three previous final defeats in the 1990s — once to Andre Agassi in 1992, then Pete Sampras in 1994 and 1998 — and shoulder injuries causing his world ranking to drop to No.125, Ivanisevic got over the line to lift his only major.
In total Goran won 22 career singles titles and £15.7million in prize money before his retirement.
Is Goran Ivanisevic married and does he have any children?
Goran came across his first wife, Tatjana Dragovicin, in 1996 when she was on the front cover of Cosmopolitan magazine.
They started dating two years later and got married in 2009.
He and the model model have two children together — a daughter, Amber Maria, and a son, Emanuel.
After they divorced, Ivanisevic married Nives Canovic in 2017, and the couple are still together.
They have a son named Oliver.