Goran Ivanisevic explains why he had to take sleeping pills to work with Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic’s former coach jokingly admitted that he took sleeping pills while working with the world No. 1. Goran Ivanisevic split with the Serb in March after five years together and he has now shared the stresses of working with the sport’s best player.

Djokovic stunned the tennis world earlier this year when he announced that he had parted ways with Ivanisevic. The pair had a wildly successful partnership as Djokovic won the first tournament he played with the Croat in his box – Wimbledon in 2019.

His words were true – the pair had a rollercoaster relationship during matches as Djokovic often vented his frustrations towards the 2001 Wimbledon winner. Ivanisevic has now addressed the pressure he faced while coaching the 24-time Grand Slam champion, claiming that there were some sleepless nights

“I always had good [sleeping] tablets,” he told Blick. “No, seriously: you have pressure every day in this industry. But I was completely okay with it. You get used to the circumstances.”

With Ivanisevic hailing from Croatia and Djokovic being Serbian, the 52-year-old said they benefitted from having a similar mentality. He continued: “It helped that we both came from the Balkans. Novak and I are similar. I was always prepared for his possible reactions.”

“I always had good [sleeping] tablets,” he told Blick. “No, seriously: you have pressure every day in this industry. But I was completely okay with it. You get used to the circumstances.”