Novak Djokovic has 'psychological problem' behind titleless 2024 so far says former Federer coach Ivan Ljubicic

Novak Djokovic has a 'psychological problem' behind his latest defeats believes former Roger Federer coach, Ivan Ljubicic.

Djokovic has just split with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic after six years together. This after the Serbian was beaten at the Australian Open while not looking himself most of the tournament by Jannik Sinner and then by Luca Nardi at Indian Wells. He then skipped Miami in order to balance his personal and professional schedule, but then dispensed of Ivanisevic before heading back to Belgrade to train for the clay.

Ljubicic sees that the fire is out of sorts for Djokovic at the moment, but that ahead of a pivotal juncture of the season, the time is there certainly to recover and get back to his best.

“His problem is psychological, he certainly hasn’t forgotten how to play tennis. Undoubtedly, ‘Nole’ must have fire inside, otherwise he is missing something,” said Ljubicic to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He is used to fighting on every point, to conquering the pitch inch by inch, and if he doesn’t feel those stimuli, he can get into difficulty. But I am convinced that as his real goals for the season approach – Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympics – he will be able to recover.”

But while Ljubicic thinks that, Feliciano Lopez recently weighed in that it was nothing to be concerned about.“It seems normal to me. We have also occasionally seen Novak lose a game that he was not involved in,” the 42-year-old told EFE.

“In the end people are also alarmed. Since he never loses, people eventually become alarmed. I wouldn’t give it more importance than he has.

“He lost in Australia with Sinner, which is predictable, things that have happened all his life, and then in Indian Wells… It’s his way of understanding the calendar now. That has worked well for him. I don’t think this will cause him any major problems. Let’s see what happens.”