“I did not tell Novak” Marian Vajda speaks of his return to coaching as the head coach of Alex Molcan


“I did not tell Novak” Marian Vajda speaks of his return to coaching as the head coach of Alex Molcan

Marian Vajda, Novak Djokovic, Alex Molcan

Slovakian coach Marian Vajda, the former coach of Novak Djokovic has returned to the tennis world but will not be a part of the Djokovic camp this time around. The most successful men’s coach for his achievements with Novak during their association of almost a decade and a half, Vajda will now be the head coach of compatriot Alex Molcan.

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Vajda and Novak parted ways after the conclusion of the 2021 ATP Finals where Novak lost in the semi-finals having secured the year-end rank of World No. 1 for the 7th time and breaking his childhood hero Pete Sampras‘ record. Vajda and Novak had agreed on the mutual split but did not communicate it till March 2022 as Novak went through one of his worst experiences in Australia in January.

However, with two nearly two months since the announcement of their split, Marian has returned to tennis once again and will now be taking charge of current World No. 47 Molcan who is currently the Slovakian No. 1 in the ATP rankings with the next best being Norbert Gombos who is the current World No. 111.

“I am glad that I will coach the best Slovakian player, it was the decisive factor. I have had a lot of offers after my cooperation with Novak ended, but I wanted to help a Slovakian player – it gave me new energy. Alex has the same ranking Novak had when we started working together. Novak and me are still friends, it was an amicable split. I told Goran that we will practice together in Paris. I did not tell Novak (about working with Molcan), but I did tell Goran, so I am sure Novak knows,” said Vajda speaking with journalist Sasa Ozmo.

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Marian Vajda’s new student Alex Molcan yet to win an ATP title

Alex Molcan
Alex Molcan

While the prospect of working with a fellow countryman is surely a great deal for Vajda, it will take some great efforts from both the Slovakians to grind out results. Molcan so far has reached two finals on the ATP Tour, the 2021 Belgrade Open when he lost to Djokovic in straight-sets

He reached his second career finals at the 2022 Grand Prix Hassan II in Morocco going down in 3-sets to David Goffin. With 13 wins from 23 matches this season, Molcan will be delighted to bring aboard an experienced coach who can help him get his hand on silverware.

Also Read: “Novak Djokovic chose Goran Ivanisevic” Ex-coach Marian Vajda divulges details on his split with the Serbian