Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic has never been afraid to speak his mind, and he made a Grand Slam prediction involving Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal back in 2019.
Ivanisevic started coaching Djokovic in June 2019 and helped the Serbian win nine majors, two ATP Finals crowns and seven Masters titles before the pair parted ways in March 2024.
Djokovic has collected 24 Grand Slam titles (10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledon titles, four US Opens and three French Opens), which is the all-time men’s singles record. His most recent major win was the 2023 US Open.
Nadal, who called time on his career in November 2024, sits second on the list with 22 Grand Slams (14 French Opens, four US Opens, two Wimbledon titles and two Australian Opens).
Roger Federer, who retired in September 2022, is third in the men’s Grand Slam standings with 20 (eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Opens, five US Opens and one French Open).
In September 2019, Ivanisevic revealed why he felt Djokovic was the best of the Big Three.
“For me, let’s put it this way, if everyone plays their best in 10 matches, I’d say Novak wins at least eight matches. He’s the most complete player of the three,” Ivanisevic was quoted as saying by Tennis World ES.
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At the time Ivanisevic was speaking, Djokovic had won 16 Grand Slams, while Nadal had just secured his 19th major at the 2019 US Open.
The Croatian backed both Djokovic and Nadal to win over 20 majors — a prediction that has aged well.
“Rafa will definitely win a few more Roland Garros and will surely surpass 20. Novak will surpass 20,” Ivanisevic declared.
On Federer, Ivanisevic added: “Roger, you can’t underestimate him.
“He’ll still be thinking about Wimbledon (the 2019 final, where Federer had two championship points against Djokovic), when people were already saying he was (on) 21 (Grand Slams).
“That hurts, but Roger will definitely be hoping for another one.”
After Ivanisevic’s words, Nadal won the French Open in 2020 and 2022, as well as securing his second Australian Open crown in 2022.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has since won three Australian Open titles (2020, 2021 an 2023), two French Open titles (2021 and 2023), two Wimbledon titles (2021 and 2022) and one US Open title (2023).
The 38-year-old Serb will aim to become the oldest major singles champion in history at the 2025 US Open.
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