John Lloyd believes former World No. 1 and one of top tennis voices, John McEnroe would be a good fit for Novak Djokovic’s new coach.
The former British No 1 believes a left-field coaching choice like McEnroe could be a great replacement to Goran Ivanisevic as the Serbian World No. 1 needs someone reenergizing his spirits especially during the big matches.
Earlier this week, Djokovic announced the surprising split with the longtime coach Ivanisevic, after a highly successful partnership that began in 2019. The split comes on the back of a title-less 2024 season as the 36-year-old is yet to discover his old mojo back despite having a stellar 2023 campaign.
The World No. 1 was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the semis of 2024 Australian Open in January – a result that folded his 33-match win streak at the major. The 24-time major champion suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Italian Luca Nardi in the R3 of the Indian Wells Open before pulling out of Miami Masters.
Talking to the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Lloyd, a renowned tennis commentator offered his solution on how Djokovic should fill the void left by Croat’s exit.
“I would almost go sort of left-field, I would go with someone like John McEnroe. I know he probably wouldn’t do it. I think he’s gotta go somewhere. He doesn’t need someone who’s going to be doing drills and stuff, the former ATP #21 said”.
“It’s the mind, it’s almost like the re-energising, the motivation, the days before, the nights before the big matches. The day of the big matches, motivating. I know he’s self-motivated, don’t get me wrong.
“I don’t know, just someone that’s out there who’s going to give a kind of fresh, like, ‘You know, I’m X years older and all that, but I don’t think it’s that, it’s not.’
“It’s just mentally saying things at the right time. You know, amusing things. In-your-face type of things, I don’t know, that’s kind of where I am looking now.
“I’m sure I’m completely wrong, but that’s kind of what I suddenly thought, I thought someone like that would be an interesting fit.”
Djokovic announced his split with the 2001 Wimbledon Champion though an Instagram post shared on his account: “I remember clearly the moment I invited Goran to be part of my team. It was back in 2018, and Marian [Vajda] and I were looking to innovate and bring some serve magic to our duo.
“In fact, not only we brought serve, but also lots of laughter, fun, year-end No 1 rankings, record-breaking achievements and 12 more Grand Slams (and a few finals) to the count since then. Did I mention a bit of drama too?
“Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our on-court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid.
“In fact, I am proud to say (not sure he is) that apart from winning tournaments together, we also had a side battle in (the board game) Parchisi going on… for many years. And – that tournament never stops for us. Thanks for everything my friend. Love you.”