Novak Djokovic’s ‘new method’ under scrutiny, but former coach insists ‘he’s not done winning’
Novak Djokovic during an off-court moment
Marian Vajda admits there is a question mark over Novak Djokovic’s new approach to tournaments, but he is confident the tennis great will soon “prove again” that he is a great champion.
Djokovic finds himself in an unfamiliar position as he is without a title so far this year as he has a win-loss record of 8-3 with those defeats coming at the United Cup, the semi-final of the Australian Open and the third round of the Indian Wells Open.
Despite his struggles, the 24-time Grand Slam winner opted to skip the Miami Open as he admitted he wants to play a reduced schedule with his main focus on the Grand Slams and the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be staged at Roland Garros from July 27.
However, his decision to play only a handful of tournaments could have an impact on his readiness for the big events with his former coach Vajda admitting the world No 1 finds himself in a tricky situation in terms of his “new method” could result in him being undercooked at the start of the majors and
“I think Novak is trying to adapt and find the right balance,” the Slovakian – who coached Djokovic from 2006 until 2017 and then again from 2018 until 2022 – told Ubitenns.net. “Now he can’t think of playing all the tournaments like he once did.
“The calendar is too full, he has to make choices. The great motivation for him remains the Slams and the Olympics. So he has to find time to prepare, to train well, but he can’t think of putting the same concentration into the other tournaments.“I think the real question is whether this new method will still be able to make him win. Because if he plays fewer tournaments, you may arrive less trained than those who have played more than you.”
Despite that question mark, Vajda believes Djokovic’s experience and intelligence will see him rise again as he has been in a similar situation in the past.
Djokovic remains top of the ATP Rankings despite his recent woes and he is the heavy favourite to win the upcoming French Open.
Vajda added: “But Novak knows how to do it, he is very intelligent and none of the new top players have as much experience as him, simply due to age.
“Even last year he missed several tournaments such as Indian Wells and Miami but then won Roland Garros, reached the final at Wimbledon and won the US Open. So I don’t think he’s done winning and this year he will prove it once again.”
