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Novak Djokovic Wimbledon 2022

‘It’s been a sh*t year but I never doubted him’ declares Goran Ivanisevic on Novak Djokovic


Goran Ivanisevic believes that what Novak Djokovic has been through in 2022 would have ended the career of many players and admires the Wimbledon champion for his recovery.

The deportation saga Down Under set the 21-time Major champion back when he did return to court, before clinching a first title of the year at the Rome Masters in May. 

His coach Ivanisevic addressed as much in a special post-final press conference before Djokovic came in for his own media duties. 

“This was a huge thing what happened to him,” Ivanisevic said. “For some people, they don’t recover. They will never play tennis [again]. 

“Unbelievable how he recovered and how he got through that. It’s really for me heroic.”

Ivanisevic did make clear that he never doubted that Djokovic would recover, just that he was thoroughly impressed with how he did.

When asked to speak further on the mental resilience shown by his charge, Ivanisevic admitted “It’s very emotional. If I can say it was a sh*t year, a tough year, especially for him, but also for us that were close to him.

“Being there in Australia, everything after, it took him a while to keep going and find his form.

“For me he was the favourite here. Before the tournament he really played some unbelievable tennis. But you still need to win the tournament, so it was not easy.”

Despite this Wimbledon triumph, Djokovic is now left in a state of uncertainty once again, as at present he will not play another Slam for 10 months. 

His vaccination status means he can not enter the US to play the final Major of the year there, and his Australian deportation will keep him out of Melbourne come 2023. 

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