Novak Djokovic's ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic on his Indian Wells failure against Nardi: "Aleksandar Vukic could've beaten him as well"

Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic recently spoke in detail about the Serb's unceremonious Indian Wells Masters campaign last month.

Djokovic had a tough start to his 2024 season in January as he failed to defend his Australian Open title. The 36-year-old then took a one-month break, before making his return to the ATP Tour at Indian Wells in March.

However, the five-time titlist was far from his best in the Californian desert, needing three sets to dispatch current World No. 67 Aleksandar Vukic in his opener. He then suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 upset to Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi to exit the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in the third round.

Shortly afterward, Djokovic and long-time coach Ivanisevic parted ways. The Croat had guided the Serb to nine Major titles and four year-end World No. 1 finishes since coming on board in March 2019.

Ivanisevic recently gave his account of what exactly went wrong for the 24-time Major winner at Indian Wells while speaking to Sasa Ozmo and Sport Klub. The 52-year-old asserted that his former ward would've likely lost in the second round itself, provided his lower-ranked opponent Vukic had played with more conviction.

The Croat added that Djokovic's first-set performance in his loss to Nardi was uncharacteristically bad for the high standards he has set over the years.

"To come back to this American swing, I think if (Aleksandar) Vukic believed more he probably could have beaten him as well," Goran Ivanisevic said. "That first set against (Luca) Nardi was maybe the worst set that I saw him play in these five years that I’ve been his coach."

That said, Ivanisevic also praised the young Italian for his determination before claiming he is already good enough to crack the ATP top 50 rankings.

"The second he won, and the third I have to admit that Nardi saw that he could beat him, he hit 16 winners, not taking anything away from him," he added. "Novak simply wasn’t ready for that battle, even though he really tried it just didn’t go his way. Nardi is actually really good, in my opinion he should be in the top 50 already."

---

"Novak Djokovic wanted something different, to be more with family" - Goran Ivanisevic

Novak Djokovic retrieves a ball at BNP Paribas Open 2024

During the interaction, Goran Ivanisevic further stated that Novak Djokovic lacked motivation coming into the Sunshine Double. The Croatian's assertions make sense, considering the World No. 1 withdrew from the Miami Masters later in March after his early exit at Indian Wells.

"Finding motivation every day, I’m with him in the training sessions and I watch it, it’s not easy to come every day to training and to motivate yourself, it's easier for the grand slams, but for these Masters it’s hard to train with intensity over and over again, even for a perfectionist such as he," Ivanisevic said. "It requires strength, passion, willpower... he wanted something different, to be more with family."

Djokovic will be eager to win his first title of 2024 at this week's Monte-Carlo Masters. The Serb is a two-time champion in the Principality and will be the top seed at the Masters-level event.