A longtime former coach of Novak Djokovic has floated the theory that the perfectionist Serb is grinding his coaches into dust in his quest for tennis immorality.
Marian Vajda, who left Team Djoko in 2022 after serving two “terms” with the world No. 1 starting in 2006, told Ubitennis of his fears.
Djokovic and his most recent coach, 2001 Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic, parted company in recent weeks, with the Croat mentor hinting that the pair had grown tired of each other’s constant company over six years.
Vajda said the pressure of working with Djokovic could be the undoing of any coach:
“(It is) perhaps the pressure that coaches are subjected to; and it had become tiring for Ivanisevic too. But I’m not sure about it.”
The Slovak said that the hamster wheel of constant tennis travel may have played a part in the situation.
“We were always travelling, from one continent to another. I always had to say goodbye to my family without knowing how long I would be away and the pressure in tournaments was very strong, even for me.
“In tennis the coach is constantly under scrutiny.
“The pressure of this sport is exhausting even for the coach. In football when a team loses, it is never the fault of a single individual, you don’t look every time at how the coach worked to prepare for that match.
“When a tennis player loses, the coach is immediately questioned.”
Djokovic has brought in new blood in the form of good friend and former Serb Davis Cup captain Nenad Zimonjic, who is working with him at this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
There is so far no determination if the arrangement will become more permanent.
Main photo:- Novak Djokovic winning in Monte Carlo – by ISF Ltd
