"Making history is not enough": Novak Djokovic takes dig at ATP over Coach of the Year snub as Goran Ivanisevic loses award to Jannik Sinner's coaches

Novak Djokovic has taken a dig at the ATP for denying his coach Goran Ivanisevic the Coach of the Year Award after the Croat lost to Jannik Sinner's coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi.

Sinner had a great season in 2023. He won four tour-level titles, including his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto. His other titles were two ATP 500s in Vienna and Beijing, and an ATP 250 in Montpelier.

Moreover, the Italian reached his maiden Major semifinal at Wimbledon, the final of the ATP Finals, and a career-high singles ranking of World No. 4. He achieved all that under the guidance of Cahill and Vagnozzi.

Novak Djokovic took to his Instagram stories to congratulate Sinner's coaches on taking home the accolade. He also, however, made a subtle dig at the ATP for depriving his coach Goran Ivanisevic of the award even after they had a fabulous season.

Djokovic and Ivanisevic won seven titles together in 2023, including three Grand Slams and the ATP Finals, while also securing the year-end No. 1 ranking.

"Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik," Djokovic wrote.

"Goran, I guess we need to win 4/4 Slams in order for you to maybe (just maybe) be considered coach of the year. Winning Year End #1, 3 GS and WTF (World Tour Finals) and making history of this sport is not enough, my dear coach," he added.

Novak Djokovic via Instagram stories

---

Novak Djokovic reveals how Goran Ivanisevic and his team try to keep his motivation high

Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic pictured together

Novak Djokovic explained to Eurosport during the 2023 Paris Masters that he needs a lot of motivation at this point in his career. He went on to talk about how his coach Goran Ivanisevic and his team are looking for new ways to do so.

"Goran and the rest of the team are trying to find new ways to motivate me. They haven't been succeeding much so far. We have a lot of fun. We are great friends. We have a professional relationship," Djokovic said.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion also joked that they need to slightly modify their Serbian and Croatian swearing terms, as most umpires are aware of them. He added that "creativity" can take a backseat in the heat of the moment.

"The problem we have, because of the success of Croatian and Serbian players in the last 30 years or so, we unfortunately have a situation where most of the umpires understand the swearing words," the Serb said.

"So we have to play around a little bit, we have to use the slang, create new words, but when you're p***** off, you don't think about creating," he added.