"Who am I to get angry at Novak Djokovic? He's the best player in the history of tennis"

Novak Djokovic's coach Goran Ivansevic recently said it's not an easy job to coach the "best player in the history of tennis." Ivanisevic also hailed the World No. 1's innate ability to motivate himself.

Top seed Djokovic faced off against fourth seed Jannik Sinner in the final of the season-ending tournament in Turin on Sunday. The 36-year-old defeated the home favorite in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to secure a record seventh ATP Finals title.

During a press conference following Djokovic's victory, his coach Goran Ivanisevic touched upon the challenges he faces when dealing with the Serb while he is trailing in a match.

"But who am I to get angry at him? He's the best player in the history of tennis," the Croat said. "I can be only angry with him sometimes when he's yelling for no reason at us. When he loses the match, he's always giving his best and he's trying."

"But it's not easy to deal with him when he's losing the match," Ivanisevic added. "On Tuesday night, he finished late. On Wednesday we didn't see him at all. Till Thursday we didn't know what's happening, to be honest. We were in the room. We didn't know if we are going home, if we are going to the warm-up against Hurkacz. We were sitting, sitting. We finally find out that he's going to play (smiling)."

Ivanisevic further discussed the 24-time Grand Slam champion's ability to keep himself motivated to compete at the highest level despite having won everything.

"Like every human being, he has some fighting with himself. I think he made good decision to stay calm. I know is not easy. I know is not easy to motivate himself. He won everything. He finished No. 1. But he always find motivation," he said.

"We were patient. Actually I have my family. I went for shopping. Actually, I had a good day on Wednesday. It was beautiful day. I enjoyed it. It was a good year, so how can I be mad on anybody? You see, now I'm sitting here and celebrating his victory. But is not easy. Is not easy. Is not easy. That's life. He's No. 1. He wants always more. He wants something better all the time," he added.

Novak Djokovic: "I was not mentally present after clinching World No. 1"

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner pictured at the 2023 ATP Finals in Turin

Novak Djokovic secured a record-extending eighth World No. 1 year-end rank during the 2023 ATP Finals in Turin.

The Serb needed a solitary win in the competition to end the year atop the ATP rankings, and a 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3 victory in the opener over eighth seed Holger Rune did the trick.

Following his record seventh title at the season-ending tournament, Novak Djokovic explained his dip in performance in the group-stage matches, which resulted in a loss against home favorite Jannik Sinner. He attributed it to his win over Rune, which secured the World No. 1 rank.

"Obviously what Goran [Ivanisevic] was referring to is probably after I clinched the year No. 1 with the first win over [Holger] Rune, I was not mentally present I think fully in the tournament. After that I was like, yeah, kind of half in, half out feeling. That reflected on my level of tennis and my performance and the way I felt on the court," Djokovic said.

The reigning US Open champion went on to thank runner-up Sinner, as his last group stage victory over Holger Rune confirmed his semifinal spot. Djokovic also reflected fondly on the difference in his level against the Italian in the group stage and in the final.

"Obviously thanks to [Jannik] Sinner for allowing me to be in the semifinals when I was there. I thought now, okay, I'm going to try and step it up. And I did. I played two really high-level matches," Djokovic said.

"I started very aggressively tonight against Jannik, which was different to the group-stage match we had against each other. I think that match helped me prepare myself better for the atmosphere, the crowd. Obviously, I analyzed the match and I looked at what I could have done better. I think I've done it very well for the entire match," the 36-year-old added.