Novak Djokovic’s former coach Goran Ivanisevic has warned Carlos Alcaraz that the Serb could delay his retirement by another four years to compete at the next Olympics. Djokovic finally won his first gold medal with victory over Alcaraz last weekend to complete the career Golden Slam.
Djokovic celebrated his 37th birthday in May, leading to suspicions that he may not have too many years left at the highest level. The emergence of Alcaraz has prompted suggestions of a changing of the guard, with Jannik Sinner also emerging as a future star of the sport.
Ivanisevic, however, believes Djokovic could prolong his career by another four years if he decides to attempt a defence of his Olympic title.
Speaking to Tennis Majors, he said: “Novak didn’t show up in the Wimbledon finals, but here you could tell if they stayed for five more hours on that court, the outcome would have been the same. Novak was flying, Novak was dancing.
“People forgot that this was his first Olympics final. He felt that this is it, that he has to seize this opportunity. Although, considering how crazy he is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in Los Angeles in 2028 as well.”
Ivanisevic was particularly impressed with Djokovic’s level against Alcaraz just weeks after losing to his younger rival in the Wimbledon final. The Spaniard made it look easy as he breezed to victory in straight sets but the story could not have been more different at the Olympics.
is an amazing switch he was able to make in his mind,” added Ivanisevic. “Wimbledon was only two or three weeks ago. The will, the desire, the strength. Alcaraz is 16 years younger, hits harder and is quicker, but Novak made it look like Carlos isn’t younger, quicker and doesn’t hit harder.
“Only a crazy person would say that he doesn’t have it in him anymore. When he really wants it, nobody can beat him, regardless of who is across the net. He was smart, he played aggressively and hit every shot with conviction. Alcaraz hits hard, but Novak hits even harder.
“I think that surprised Carlos, made him a bit nervous. It is easier said than done but that’s the key, to make Alcaraz nervous and to force him into some errors. That’s what happened in the second set tiebreak.
“Alcaraz knew that he would be punished for a shorter ball and he made some errors. It’s not easy to pull off what Novak did, but again, he wanted it so much.”
