Coach Goran Ivanisevic has said Novak Djokovic received “77 therapies each day” for a hamstring injury in order to win a record-tying 10th Australian Open title.
Despite a hamstring injury that plagued him throughout the first week, Djokovic was able to go all the way at Melbourne Park.
With his latest major victory, the 35-year-old returned to the top of the rankings, and his coach, Ivanisevic, thought it was surprising that he was able to compete, let alone win the title.
Let me put it like this. I don’t say 100%, but 97% of the players, on Saturday when you get results of the MRI, you go straight to the referee’s office and pull out of the tournament,” the Croatian said. “But not him. He is from other space. His brain is working different.
“I [have been] with him [for] four years, but it still sometimes [amazes me] how his brain works.
“He gave everything, 77 therapies a day. Every day was kind of better and better. I didn’t expect this. Honestly, I was shocked. First two rounds [were] OK, but then against [Grigor] Dimitrov [I] was very scared. But he got through and in the end he won the tournament.”
Djokovic also became the third-oldest player in the Open Era to win the Australian Open, younger only than Ken Rosewall (in 1972 and 1971) and Roger Federer (2018).
Ivanisevic was also asked by reporters how much longer he believes Djokovic can continue to take on all comers at the highest level.
“Definitely two, three more years. The way he’s taking care of his body, the way he approaches everything, the food, it’s amazing. It’s unbelievable the level,” he said.
“We are talking about young guys. They’re here, it’s great for tennis, great for the future of tennis. But you still have these two guys [Djokovic and Nadal] battling. This was Novak’s home court, and now we are going to Rafa’s home court [the French Open] in this handball match of 22-22.
“Yes, [young players] are coming, [Carlos] Alcaraz, unbelievable. Still, if Rafa steps on the court on the French Open, for me, he’s always the favourite to win the tournament… [Djokovic and Nadal] really push each other.
“It’s good that we have a lot of young guys. We have Stefanos who is going to win a Grand Slam definitely one day because he’s just an amazing player.”
