Goran Ivanisevic believes that a part of Novak Djokovic's recent woes surrounds the Davis Cup Finals and in particular his loss to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals which saw the Italian go on to claim a 19 match unbeaten run. He only lost to Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells recently.
Djokovic on the other hand disposed of Ivanisevic after the duo formed a six year partnership. This came after his loss to Luca Nardi at Indian Wells. From there, the World No.1 decided not to play Miami. Instead he is training in Belgrade and now ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters.
He seems to have found at least a temporary coaching solution with Nenad Zimonjic coming on board. But in terms of the Sinner loss, Ivanisevic said it hit harder due to his love of playing for his country and how much pride he puts on it compared to others.
"When he plays for his country - it's such pride, it's such giving. ... He gives not 100 percent, but 5,700 percent," he said in a recent interview with Sport Klub.
"Likewise in Australia at the United Cup. It's not a very important competition, but he would like to break the lines. These are the things that motivate him to the extreme," he said.
"And that's why the Davis Cup hit him so hard - your life drops, your motivation drops, you think - who's going to do it all over again?" Goran Ivanisevic added.