Ivanisevic's brilliant comparison of Alcaraz and Sinner: "It's like a shark, it devours you"

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Goran Ivanisevic is one of the most representative figures in the tennis world, not only for his role as a tennis player but also for his accomplishments as a coach alongside Novak Djokovic. The Croatian, now with Arthur Fils, details various current aspects of tennis in an extensive interview with Sportklub.

Ivanisevic is one of those types who speaks his mind and does not shy away from discussing anything presented to him. He talks about Djokovic, whom he still believes could achieve another Grand Slam, Tsitsipas and his outburst still resonating in the minds of fans, and his current work alongside Fils, among other aspects.

When did you realize that your work with Tsitsipas was not going to bear fruit?

I knew after the second day of training. When he came to Zagreb to try rackets, I understood that it wouldn’t work out. In the end, I didn't say anything bad; everything I stated was true and proved to be so. After Wimbledon, I advised him to take four months off because it wasn't just a physical issue but also mental.
He remains a phenomenal player, he was and still is, but those are just details. In today's tennis, you can't compete without being mentally prepared. I had similar problems myself when I dropped to 128th place in the rankings. In any case, everything is fine. We met in Doha and greeted each other normally. The issue was exaggerated; he said some things that we won't delve into, but everything is in order, and we move forward.

Your work alongside Fils

It's excellent. First of all, I must thank Cinkuš. He had contacted me before, but I had other projects. This time everything happened very quickly. In January, they were training in Zagreb, he invited me to come because Arthur's father wanted to talk to me. We spoke for five minutes, and the next day his representative called me; the collaboration was finalized immediately.
I am especially happy for Cinkuš, who has been with him for two years, and because we have been friends for 25 years, since our time with Marin Cilic. It is essential for two coaches to share a viewpoint and complement each other.
Arthur is one of the most talented young players. Before his injury, he was world No. 14. Unfortunately, he was out of competition for seven months, but he is part of the future of tennis. I see him among the top five. He has extraordinary quality. There is no pressure on when he will accomplish it, but I believe it will be soon. It is a project that excites me because I have always wanted to work with young players. I find his game very interesting; there are still areas to improve, but the overall balance is very positive.

The beating Fils gave Tsitsipas in Miami

I didn't see it as it was played at two in the morning. I checked my phone in the morning and was greatly surprised. I expected Fils to win, but a 6-0, 6-1 at the current level... one must play very poorly or the other exceptionally, probably a combination of both. We take it match by match.

Still no Alcaraz-Sinner in 2026

Last year we got used to many finals between them, but if we look at the major tournaments, when they meet, one wins over the other. In essence, the situation hasn't changed. They have lost some matches—especially Alcaraz in best-of-three-set tournaments—but I don't consider it a crisis. In Grand Slams, I still believe that only Djokovic can defeat them, although beating both in less than two days is extremely challenging.

Is Djokovic's 25th Grand Slam possible?

If I hadn't worked with him, maybe I would say no. But knowing him, there are no "can't" or "impossible" in his vocabulary. Of course, it is possible. Many wonder where his motivation to keep competing comes from. I hear some so-called experts constantly ruling him out. I don't know if they truly understand tennis. Djokovic plays because he loves to compete, be on the court, and win. He will always be at the top.

He will always be up there. Just look at how many tournaments he played last year and he's still the third in the world. No matter how much talk there is about youngsters, they're not there. We have these two (Sinner and Alcaraz) who play a different sport, we have Alexander Zverev who is always around, and Novak, who is special, the greatest tennis player of all time and can never be ruled out of the title race.

About Sascha Zverev and his complaint about surface equality

It seems absurd that there are longer rallies on grass than on clay. Surfaces should not favor them. He also complained in Australia about medical time-outs for cramps, but in the end, it's his own fault. It was impossible to lose that match; he was serving for the match and Alcaraz didn't have cramps for five minutes, he had them for almost two hours. When it came to closing out the match, he faltered, and against Alcaraz and Sinner, you can't do that. I don't believe they are favored; they are simply better.

What happened to Alcaraz, that he wanted to go home in the middle of the match

I understand him; there is a lot of pressure. There is always someone trying to take away your top spot. It happens to him; he's young, wants to go home, calm down, and move forward. If I were my own coach with this experience, perhaps I would win some more Grand Slams or tournaments. I can't guarantee it 100%, but I would definitely work on myself so that these things don't happen to me on the court.

What Fonseca said about them, that one is a robot and the other knows how to do everything

Well, I love them both. I have followed Sinner since he was a junior and I like him a lot as a person and a tennis player. Alcaraz is more versatile, enjoys playing tennis, laughs... I always compare Sinner to Novak; they are more similar, only Sinner now has more power, a better engine, tires, wheels, all of that. When he catches you, he bites like a shark, devours you. Alcaraz plays, goes up and down... It's great that they are different, and their matches are incredible, as shown in last year's Paris final, where people didn't say a word for five and a half hours. That kind of match, that kind of tennis, that kind of intensity, is phenomenal. I love both of them, but Alcaraz is more versatile, and that will never change, which is even better because it makes the matches better.
 

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La genial comparación de Ivanisevic sobre Alcaraz y Sinner: "Es como un tiburón, te devora"