Novak Djokovic's rocky admission and true feelings as rival brutally sacks his ex-coach

Novak Djokovic admitted his coaching relationship with Goran Ivanisevic was filled with drama at times as the ex-Wimbledon champion sensationally parted ways with Stefanos Tsitsipas. It was last year when the 24-time Grand Slam title winner announced that he had ended his partnership with Ivanisevic after almost five years.

While their coalition was one of extreme success with the Serbian banking 12 Grand Slam titles in the time they worked together, Djokovic admitted their partnership had come to a natural end when addressing the decision to cut ties. Since moving on from the 38-year-old, Ivanisevic joined forces with Tsitsipas earlier this year, but their partnership came to a surprising end this past week after less than two months of working together.

The Greek star announced their separation on social media after the Croatian went on TV and ripped into his then-client, as he stated: "I have never seen a more unprepared player in my life." Without mentioning Ivanisevic, Tsitsipas - who reinstated his father Apostolos as his coach - hit back as he said: "It is very difficult to have dictators and people who speak negatively and you don't feel like they are close to you like family.

"Being able to build a family out of this, people who will not only work with you in the tennis part but will also be your friends after your career, is something that I really want to build." Ivanisevic, 53, played down the seriousness of his comments, claiming he meant no ill will towards the 27-year-old and said reuniting with his father was the best decision he could have made.

"We spoke yesterday, no hard feelings, we thanked each other," he told HRT. "He decided to try again with his father, and honestly, I truly believe this - the only person who can coach him is his dad. He played his best tennis with him, his dad knows him best, this is a family project. It's the best decision, I wish him all the best, he's too good of a player to be where he is.

"It was blown out of proportion, I didn't insult him... I told him all of that; it's not like I was saying it behind his back. Now it seems like you can't say anything anymore. I said it honestly, to get a reaction. That's how this generation is. Unfortunately, that's how it is, everyone sees it," he continued.

While not 100 per cent harmonious, Ivanisevic's partnership with Djokovic was fruitful and one the Serb - who called the ex-tennis star a friend - looks back on fondly in the message he wrote when announcing their separation. "I remember clearly the moment I invited Goran to be part of my team," he posted on Instagram. "It was back in 2018, and Marian and I were looking to innovate and bring some serve magic to our duo.

"In fact, not only we brought serve, but also lots of laughter, fun, year end no1 rankings, record breaking achievements and 12 more Grand Slams (and a few finals) to the count since then. Did I mention a bit of drama too? 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."

Djokovic doubled down on his strong friendship with Ivanisevic two years ago when speaking at the launch of Nikola Pilic's documentary, where he said: "First of all, Goran is my friend for life, mine and of my family's. He is a very dear person for me, the end of our professional collaboration doesn't mean that our friendship stops.

"Our separation has been positive, as positive as a separation can be. We have come to a point where we've exhausted our cooperation after almost five years." Ivanisevic revealed just how much pressure exists when coaching an icon like Djokovic, admitting the Serb has a tendency to be extremely demanding.

"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 53-year-old told Blick. "Novak is very demanding. Something new has to happen every day, he always wants to get better. If you can't handle it, it's better not to take the job at all. The language certainly helped me - we had no barrier between us."