Tennis coach Marian Vajda has opened up on why he split with World No 1 Novak Djokovic.
The Serb announced he had split with his long-term coach and mentor not long after he briefly lost his World No.1 ranking to Daniil Medvedev.
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Vajda has been a constant in Djokovic’s corner, since the partnership began in 2006.
The two had parted ways for a brief while from 2017 to 2018, but Vajda has guided the Serb to 20 Grand Slam titles. The 57-year-old told Tennis Majors why the two decided to aplit early this year.
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“It was a combination of various reasons: we have been together for a really long time and his decisions showed that he wanted to focus on Grand Slam tournaments – that is why he might think that it is not ideal to have so many people in his team,” he said.
“He wanted to reduce it and have only one coach.”
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Through his career, along with Vajda, Djokovic has worked with some high-profile coaches like Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.
Since 2019, he brought former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic on his coaching team.
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“I don’t know for sure, because I never asked him, but I assume from my analysis of his tournament schedule, that he wanted to reduce his team, and he chose Goran Ivanisevic,” Vajda added.
“It did not make sense for a coach to coach him only for Grand Slams, because a coach needs a long-term plan.”
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Djokovic has had one of the most tumultous starts to the season in 2022.
After being deported from Australian on the eve of the Melbourne major, he has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.
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The ongoing Madrid Masters is only his fourth tournament of the year and he is yet to win a title.
