Ivan Ljubicic, who coached Roger Federer in his final years, thinks Novak Djokovic isn’t as motivated now.
Djokovic and Ljubicic know each other well. The Croatian was world number three when the Serbian player started to rise in the ATP Tour. Djokovic eventually replaced him behind Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Ljubicic has seen how Federer and Nadal’s success pushed Djokovic. But now, with only two of the Big Three still playing, things have changed .
Federer retired a while ago and hasn’t played for four years. Nadal is still active but struggles to win matches that used to be easy for him a decade ago.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| rs Novak Djokovic | 37 | 8,360 | 18 - 6 |
Djokovic’s Motivation:
Ljubicic believes Djokovic lacks motivation on the Tour. Smaller tournaments might not mean much to him anymore. Grand Slams are different; he’s still driven there, but Federer’s absence and Nadal’s injuries have changed things.
“For the Olympic Games, he will definitely have the motivation, but what will happen after? Without Federer, without Nadal, the circuit is a little different for him; it’s not the same motivation.”
“Boris Becker told me that it seemed to him that Novak had practically accepted Alcaraz’s superiority, which he had never done with Rafa and Roger. We are not far from the generational change. That’s life…”
Fans might think this news is surprising because they always see Djokovic as highly competitive.
As Ljubicic noted, Djokovic has a strong reason to be motivated at the Olympics. He has never won Gold and often talks about it as one of his biggest goals.
It’s his biggest regret so far in his career, and he wants to change that at the upcoming Paris Games—likely his last chance.
What happens next is uncertain. Both Ljubicic and Boris Becker believe Djokovic seems to accept Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner slowly overtaking him.
But don’t count Djokovic out just yet! He won three of four Grand Slams last year. This season could end differently if he wins Gold at the Olympics or triumphs at the US Open—changing everything once again.
Do you think Djokovic can find new rivalries to keep pushing himself forward?
