American tennis icon John McEnroe says it is “laughable” to think that Novak Djokovic needs a full-time coach in order to be successful on the court.
Since deciding to part ways with his coach of six years Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic has briefly worked with former doubles world No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic and currently he is accompanied by Boris Bosnjakovic for the French Open.
At Roland Garros, Djokovic is aiming to defend his title but also to win only his first title of the season. While Djokovic’s form since splitting with Ivanisevic hasn’t been great, his play at the start of the year while he had a full-time coach sitting in his box wasn’t great either.
While it has been a rough 2024 season for Djokovic, he has managed to get through his opening two French Open matches with back-to-back straight-set wins over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Roberto Carballes Baena.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Clive Mason
McEnroe: Laughable to think Djokovic needs a coach to win
Following Djokovic’s latest win, McEnroe addressed claims that the record 24-time Grand Slam champion needs a full-time coach to win titles.
“As far as him needing a coach, I think that’s laughable. As far as him needing someone to tell him what he’s doing on the court, I don’t buy that,” McEnroe said on Eurosport.
“If he wants someone around, that’s perfectly fine. It’s worked amazingly well as no one in their wildest dreams thought he’d win 24 [Grand Slam titles]. I remember seeing him playing against Gael Monfils when they were both young and he won that match in five.
“I thought to myself ‘that kid Djokovic has got some guts’, but if you told me then he would win 24 Grand Slams, I’d have said you were mad. Now he is trying to win more and these first two rounds were a really good draw for him. Two guys that didn’t have a prayer to beat him.”
On Saturday, Djokovic plays against Lorenzo Musetti in the French Open third round.
