Goran Ivanisevic reveals why he needed sleeping pills to coach Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic’s former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, humorously admitted that he took sleeping pills while working with the world No. 1. Ivanisevic.

He split from the Serb in March after five years together and has now shared the stresses of working with one of the sport’s greatest players.

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, with Djokovic winning the first tournament he played with the Croat in his box - Wimbledon in 2019.

“Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our on-court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion wrote on Instagram in March following a conversation with Ivanisevic in Miami.

His words were true - the pair had a rollercoaster relationship during matches, with Djokovic often venting 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 benefited 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.”

Given Djokovic’s greatness, there was extra expectation on Ivanisevic’s shoulders. “Well, when you train Novak Djokovic, anything other than winning the title at any tournament is a failure. That's a lot of pressure to deal with,” the former world No. 2 added.

But he has now been relieved of the stress after parting ways with Djokovic. Ivanisevic previously shared his intentions to take the summer off before finding a new, younger player to coach. Meanwhile, the world No. 1 has been working with Nenad Zimonjic.

A former doubles No. 1, Zimonjic has not officially joined Djokovic’s team, but he linked up with him at both the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Italian Open.