Publications
Partners
Cape Town - World number nine Marin Cilic has said that he and former coach Goran Ivanisevic parted ways amicably despite media reports to the contrary.
The two parted ways in August and Cilic is now being coached by Swede Jonas Björkman.
The coaching change seems to have had an immediate impact, with the 27-year-old winning his first Masters title in Cincinnati defeating Andy Murray in the final to end the Scots 21-match winning streak.
Ivanisevic had been Cilic's coach from 2013 and helped his countryman to win the 2014 U.S. Open singles title when he beat Japan's Kei Nishikori in straight sets for his first grand slam.
In an interview with Tennis World, Cilic shot down speculation that there were issues between him and former coach Ivanisevic, who has now teamed up with Czech world No.8 Tomáš Berdych.
"Obviously breaking up with a coach is never easy. It can be turbulent. For me it was pretty much okay," said Cilic. "Also glad to see that Goran is working as well with Tomas. Tomas is a definitely a kind of player that is a little bit similar to me, so they might have success as well."
Though not present in Cincinnati, Cilic credits Bjorkman for assisting him telephonically in his winning his first Masters title.
"I was in contact with him during the week. We talked about the game, what I need to do on the court, what to focus on.
"Obviously, we just started, and to have already a big win like this is really nice," Cilic added.
