Coach Goran Ivanisevic says he considers Novak Djokovic as the best player in tennis history so there’s a definitely a chance he would have made a deep Monte Carlo run had he survived the Alejandro Davidovich Fokina scare.
On Tuesday, Djokovic bowed out of the Monte Carlo Masters after Davidovich Fokina upset the top-seeded Serb 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-1.
In an interview with Ubaldo Scanagatta of Ubitennis, Ivanisevic was asked if Djokovic could have played better had he somehow survived the Davidovich Fokina challenge.
“You never know. This guy for me is the best player in the history of tennis. He always finds a way to win, he always finds a way to get out of trouble,” Ivanisevic told Ubaldo Scanagatta of Ubitennis, per Sportskeeda.
Ivanisevic: Djokovic should have won the second set much easier
The second set between Djokovic and Davidovich Fokina was an absolute sliugfest as it featured long games and a total of six breaks.
Djokovic managed to win the second set tie-break and force a decider but he ran out of gas and that cost him victory.
“About yesterday first of all, he was supposed to win the second set 6-0,” Ivanisevic said. “One moment he was losing three love when he was supposed to be leading three love. He had break points and game points. He lost a lot of energy. But he’ll find his way out of this in his constant playing.
“He only had three matches prior to this tournament. Clay is not easy. Last year he started pretty badly here, he lost to Evans in the second round. Then in Belgrade he lost in the semis. He started to play well in Rome where he got to the final, then he won the French Open. So I’m not worried. He just needs some continuity, he needs to play more and more matches and he’s going to find his way.”