Novak Djokovic is currently on a three-match losing streak dating back to January. However, former World No. 41 Tennys Sandgren has a solution for the Serb’s form dip.
Djokovic began his 2025 ATP Tour season campaign in less-than-ideal fashion, losing to Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International. The 10-time Australian Open champion was then forced to retire after losing the first set of his last-four encounter against Alexander Zverev in Melbourne a few weeks later.
The 24-time Major winner’s woes didn’t end here. The 37-year-old has since dropped his tournament openers matches at the Qatar Open and the Indian Wells Masters to Matteo Berrettini and Botic van de Zandschulp, respectively. In that context, ex-ATP pro Tennys Sandgren tongue-in-cheek insisted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday (March 10) that the former World No. 1 should hire him as a coach to get back to winning ways.
“The GOAT is struggling. I can help,” Tennys Sandgren wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
Funnily enough, the American lost all four of his tour-level encounters against Novak Djokovic during his playing days. The 24-time Major winner notably beat him en route to his triumphs at 2018 Wimbledon, the 2018 US Open, the 2020 Cincinnati Masters and the 2021 French Open.
Sandgren eventually hung up his racket in 2024 after spending thirteen years on the ATP Tour and the Challengers circuit. The 33-year-old won his lone pro title in singles at the 2019 ASB Classic. The highlights of his career came at the Australian Open, where he made it to the quarterfinals in 2018 and 2020.
Tennys Sandgren has previously come out in Novak Djokovic’s defense
For what it’s worth, Tennys Sandgren has also staunchly defended Novak Djokovic from his detractors in the recent past. In 2023, the 24-time Major winner copped criticism from a fan regarding his participation in the Davis Cup qualifiers, as they believed then that he was playing at the team event only to make himself eligible for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sandgren was seemingly at odds with the above assertion as he replied to the fan stating that even if the move was selfish, the then-World No. 1 was still playing for his country regardless.
“‘He represented his country just so he could represent his country some more!’ Yes,” Tennys Sandgren wrote on X in September 2023.
Last year, Sandgren also claimed that Roger Federer’s infamous takedown of the Serb following the latter’s retirement loss in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Australian Open made up for “the biggest probably shouldn’t have said that” moment in sports history.
“This might be the biggest ‘prob shouldn’t have said that’ in sports history,” the American insisted in June 2024.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, will be looking to get out of his slump at the 2025 Miami Masters later this month. The World No. 7 hasn’t played at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament since 2019.
