“Novak Djokovic misses Vajda” Former coach of Goran Ivanisevic calls the Croatian ‘inexperienced’ to lead the World No. 1
Follow Us
Marian Vajda, Novak Djokovic, Goran Ivanisevic
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been having one of his toughest seasons with all the drama from the start of the season. Ever since he decided to remain firm on not getting vaccinated against Covid-19, he has been deported from Australia and denied entry into the USA which has seen him play very little this year.
Since the start of the Clay season, Novak has however been a regular on the Tour and is slowly regaining his form. Amidst this ban and entry being denied to him, one another major change has taken for the Serbian. At the start of March 2022, Novak announced his split with longtime coach Marian Vajda with Goran Ivanisevic replacing the Slovakian as the head coach of Novak.
Goran and Novak have not been to a great start as Djokovic lost in his opener in Monte-Carlo, a runner-up finish in Serbia and then a semi-final run in the Madrid Open. As Novak prepares to play in the 2022 Rome Masters, former Serbian Pro and coach Radmilo Armenulic, talked about what has gone right and what has gone wrong for Novak.
“Novak started the season with defeats. Remember Monte Carlo, then Serbia open where he lost the finals, and now Madrid … But he is slowly getting back in shape, his mental stability is returning. I expect him to play better in Rome and reach form for Roland Garros. He will be one of the favourites there, along with Nadal, Alcaraz and Medvedev. Although there may be some surprises in the form of Rublev or Auger Aliassime.
“I think he misses Wajda! With him, Novak achieved better results, he was mentally more stable. Ivanisevic is a new coach, he has no experience, he can share advice, but Vajda was more specific, convincing, closer … Somehow he had a family relationship with Nole, and that meant a lot to Djokovic because he is emotional,” said Radmilo as reported by Kurir Serbia.
“If Novak Djokovic doesn’t make it to the finals, it’s a failure”: Radmilo Armenulic
With only one final appearance so far this season, Radmilo was a little critical of the Serbian who being the World No. 1 should be a regular in finals. With Novak not being a regular, his physical attributes have been visibly affected and Radmilo hopes that he solves this issue before the French Open.
“Novak is the first player in the world. If he doesn’t win a tournament or doesn’t make it to the finals, it’s a failure. If he is not the first seed at Roland Garros, he will be a big painter. Why? Well, because more serious opponents would be waiting for him in the third round. He is mentally stable, but in my opinion physically unprepared. He needs to work on his condition to stay “number 1″. He must have strength for the third set, or in Paris for the fifth. He has a team that takes care of that, I believe he will save it,” added Radmilo.
Stay Updated!
Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)