Novak Djokovic‘s former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, has claimed that Pete Sampras “ruined his life” after losing two Wimbledon finals to the American. Ivanisevic lost three times in the men’s singles final at SW19, two of them to seven-time winner Sampras in 1994 and 1998.
The Croat eventually went on to lift the title on Centre Court after winning a memorable final in five sets against Pat Rafter in 2001. The match was famed for being played on a Monday due to rain, with no roof on any of Wimbledon‘s courts at the time.
Ivanisevic will have been relieved to see Sampras lose in the fourth round to Roger Federer in 2001 – paving the way for him to finally lift the trophy in south-west London after so many heartbreaking defeats to the 14-time Grand Slam champion. And speaking via Sport, the 54-year-old has opened up on the difficult moments he suffered as a player due to Sampras.
Ivanesevic ended his career with a 6-12 losing record against the American great. He said: “As for my career, I would have played differently against that unfortunate Sampras. He ruined my life.
“He destroyed my dreams. I couldn’t sleep because of him. I would have played some finals differently against him
He added: “I am extremely proud to have played in the era of Pete Sampras. I played fantastic matches against him and shared the dressing room with him. To be second only to Sampras, perhaps the worst tennis player in history. However, he destroyed 20 years of my life.”
The former world No. 2 has been out of work since a brief stint with Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek parted ways with Ivanesevic after crashing out in the first round of Wimbledon last year.
Ivanisevic raised eyebrows with a scathing assessment of Tsitsipas’ performance at SW19, saying he had “never seen such a poorly prepared player” in his life during an interview with SportsKlub. He insisted afterwards, however, that there was no bad blood between the pair.