This week Novak Djokovic has cleaned his coaching house, parting ways with his long-time coach, physio and fitness team members in one devastating swoop. So the big question has emerged…who will the former ATP world no. 1 hire to replace Marian Vajda?
Martina Navratilova: A longshot option for sure, but the legendary lefty knows the sport and could help Djokovic’s attacking game and his motivation issues. Navratilova was able to maintain her playing intensity and fitness through three decades. Navratilova had a failed relation with Aga Radwanska and could be eager to rebuild her lost coaching credibility.
Darren Cahill: Killer has worked wonders with a rejuvenated Andre Agassi. Could instill a rejuvenation into the stagnating Djokovic. Cahill has loads of experience working with legendary baseliners Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt. Could possibly tinker with the Djokovic game and raise it to another level.
Brad Gilbert: Has a proven record of getting the most out of Andre Agassi, Brad Gilbert and Andy Murray. It’s unknown how the personalities of these two gregarious personalities would mesh.
Marcelo Rios: Djokovic has great respect for Rios who recently turned down an offer to coach Tommy Haas. It’s an odd, quirky concept to consider Rios as a coach for Djokovic but we all know Djokovic is not your typical, traditional, normal thinker.
Pete Sampras: Sampras has said that he would not rule out coaching a top player in an interview last year despite his issues with traveling and time away from home. If Djokovic were to make the call to one of his childhood tennis heroes, you have to wonder how Sampras would react.
Andre Agassi: If anyone could help Djokovic to find his way out of this current struggle period it’s Agassi who knows a thing or two about rebuilding and reconstructing a broken tennis player. The question of course is does Agassi have the time or the interest to devote to coaching a player?
John McEnroe: The most intriguing option. McEnroe and Djokovic are good friends and have had good relations for years. McEnroe adores Djokovic as a person and a player. McEnroe has had a number of disappointments as a coach and knowing his competitive nature, it’s highly likely he is motivated to find success and experience guiding a top player to Grand Slam success.
Final analysis: I would guess John McEnroe is the favorite of this list. Djokovic needs an accomplished legend who knows what it takes to win major titles. McEnroe knows and is tune with today’s game and players tendencies. While I consider it possible and not probable, I believe Djokovic’s best option for a coach is John McEnroe.
(Photo by Henk Abbink)
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1 2 3 Next »catherine bell · May 6, 2017 at 10:09 am
My bet – none of those you have named will end up coaching Djokovic – and do you know something about Cahill’s coaching contract with Simona Halep that we don’t ?
Andrew Miller · May 6, 2017 at 10:54 am
Whoever he turns to should be legitimate. Based on his recent coaching choices they won’t be. This looks increasingly about money and maybe it went to Djokovic’ head that it was his talent, not the practice and coaching, that made him a candidate for greatest of all time.
Whoops.
That’s easy to remedy from where we are sitting in the peanut gallery: Djokovic should hire a real coach to support his existing coaching staff and provide the right advice before and after matches.
But if you are Novak himself, it’s different. It’s I have to suck it up, admit I’ve made a mistake here in my late prime, and hire someone and probably pay a lot for it.
Do we really think he will do this? I doubt it. Becker was a smart addition, managing Djokovic and the media well. He was credible and had no problem saying why he thought Djokovic would win tournaments, and it wasn’t bluffing. Becker was a strong strategist and also knew the psyche of opponents.
So, it’s all Djoker. If he’s big enough to fire some staff and bring on a big name and pay up, he’ll return to the top. If he does what he’s been doing and wait for the magic to happen, he’s coasting towards the hall of fame.
Krzysztof · May 6, 2017 at 4:18 pm
I think James Blake is a good option. He has always admired Djoker and could help the Serb with his returns and volleys as during player times he was ultra-agressive and could help Novak to shorten the points which is very important in latter stages of his career.
Scoop Malinowski · May 6, 2017 at 8:11 pm
Cahill would be paid higher by Djokovic I would guess and it would be easy for him to say goodbye to Halep if he was to get an offer –
Scoop Malinowski · May 6, 2017 at 8:14 pm
It will have to be an ex player who has won majors or worked extensively with a player who has won majors – Djokovic is no dummy and I’m sure he will be creative and shrewd about who he hires – if he hasn’t already decided on a certain coach already –
Scoop Malinowski · May 6, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Blake will be a fine coach but I don’t see him with Djokovic – Blake was a major overachiever in his career and definitely will be a good coach if he chooses that route –
sharoten · May 7, 2017 at 2:31 am
It’s not his coaches or his fitness trainers or physios or his two p.r. agents, it’s his kooky guru and how Pepe has taken over Novak and Jelena’s life. They are too busy out hugging trees and drinking carrot juice to concentrate on tennis.
catherine bell · May 7, 2017 at 2:36 am
Madrid –
Some surprising results already for WTA, Bouchard wins, Konta loses, could be tough openers for Angie and Simona.
catherine bell · May 7, 2017 at 2:47 am
And I’ll continue to say this – incredible overreaction from the ITF to Nastase’s behaviour. Is he going to be banned for life from every ITF event ? Hypocrisy knows no limits.
And yes – a necrophiliac has sat in the Royal Box at Wimbledon so I’ve no further comment to make about that.
catherine bell · May 7, 2017 at 6:34 am
Angie safely through first round 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2017 at 8:38 am
How this curious character Pete has gained influence over the Djokovics is intriguing and worthy of investigating –
catherine bell · May 7, 2017 at 9:24 am
Some people are very susceptible to those kinds of influences – doesn’t seem to depend on intelligence or knowledge of the world or anything like that – rather a kind of emotional vulnerability which these types recognise.
A bit like conmen operate – I’m not saying this guy is a conman obviously – but same MO.
Gans · May 7, 2017 at 10:08 am
Nice subject and very well presented, Scoop.
I don’t think it has to be necessarily a grand slam champion. A former top 10 player one who has the formula, ideas and personality that resonates with Djokovic is what he might need and looking for.
However, I agree with your top candidate. This could be the partnership that will spark so much energy into Djokovic and propel him towards further greatness. Despite his extreme competitive spirit, he has a soft side to him. Djokovic matches him in this quality.
They will make a super team!
Cheers,
Gans
catherine bell · May 7, 2017 at 10:58 am
Sorry – no way John McEnroe is going to be coaching Djokovic.
I’d bet on that.
Hartt · May 7, 2017 at 1:21 pm
Looks like this is the active thread now.
Sascha had a SS win over Pella. My stream stopped before the trophy ceremony but apparently he did don the lederhosen that the winner wears and got a nice BMW (heard that the youngster had a huge smile in the car). I want to see that! And I get to have strudel to celebrate his win. 🙂
PCB had a SS win over Muller. The Spaniard looks very good on clay. although his other 2 titles were on hard courts. Am looking forward to the rest of Pablo’s season.
Was disappointed, but not surprised, that Raonic lost his final to Cilic in Istanbul. I did not think Milos looked especially sharp yesterday, although he did win over Troicki. And then today he had a MTO for his elbow late in the first set and Marin pretty well took over after that. But at least Milos got some much-needed match play after being out for 6 weeks.
Hartt · May 7, 2017 at 1:35 pm
To add to the info about Sascha. This title moves him to a career high of No. 17, just above Kyrgios and about 100 points behind Sock. He is the 6th German player to have won the Munich title – it must be especially gratifying to win your home tourney.
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2017 at 4:04 pm
Wonder what Roger thinks of this guy Pepe 🙂
Andrew Miller · May 7, 2017 at 4:07 pm
Prediction: Sharpie d. Bouchard, no fireworks, brief handshake at end, muted celebration, low key press conferences at end.
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2017 at 4:11 pm
You’re right Gans there are a lot of excellent coaching candidates out there who were not no 1 or GS champions – Ljubicic is proof of that – I think Spadea should be considered – Haas would also be an interesting choice though Haas is probably too close to Federer to coach Djokovic – Peter Lundgren has disappeared for years and he is another top notch coach –
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2017 at 4:12 pm
Very happy to see that Zverev has bounced back so strong after the heartbreaking losses to Nadal and Chung – Another important sign that this evolving player will be a tremendous future champion –
Andrew Miller · May 7, 2017 at 4:13 pm
Djokovic: Cheapskate who stays with guru instead of ditching him, which I’m dead sure his family and team want him to do. It’s painful to see an all time great player indulge weird characters who deserve to be kicked out of his inner circle. Djokovic’s pride is holding him back, which is weird because he’s cleaned house before by firing Todd Martin and bringing in Becker, Boris. Heck he could even bring in Benjamin Becker and that would be better than this replay of the Titanic!!!
Thomas Tung · May 7, 2017 at 5:28 pm
The closest thing that this “Pepe” experience with Joker reminds me of is dear Bjorn Borg going with 79-year-old Welsh guru and martial artist, Ron Thatcher, aka “Professor Honsai” in 1991 for his much-ballyhooed comeback. Borg even did Novak one better by stubbornly sticking to his beloved wood rackets, as opposed to a certain R. Federer as per racket adaptation/change.
The result? As Prince Albert said in the Swedish documentary on Borg: “It was pretty sad to see”.
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2017 at 5:41 pm
Still surprised Borg tried that ill fated whatever you want to call it – Heard recently Borg has a thirteen year old kid who is doing very well in juniors-
Andrew Miller · May 7, 2017 at 6:52 pm
Thomas recap of Borg is telling. I remember when he came back and faced I think Jordi Arrese? I just scoured the internet to read more about Borg’s failed comeback in 1991. But from what I can tell it was more like his second failed comeback, after Leconte had beat him when Borg tried to come back the first time.
I have no idea what’s going on in Djokovic’s head. Bit whatever it is his mentality has dropped him out of the top two in the world and his level of play is what, top ten? Djokovic isn’t Borg, and he isn’t Bouchard either.
But he’s got to clean house if he wants to storm the mountain again and hoist slam trophies. Federer has capably stepped in and Nadal is poised to return to form and gearing up for a run at another French Open title to join the many others in his trophy case in Mallorca.
If I were him I’d ditch the guru and hire a pro who’s good at coaching a player who’s already excellent. Even bring back Boris Becker unless Djokovic’s wife hates him (no grounds to believe this, but where is all the weirdness coming from? Who hires gurus?).
If he stays the course Djokovic might as well call up Wilander and say I’m becoming you after your three slam run. Even that would be welcome as Wilander could pitch Djokovic on a coaching gig.
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2017 at 10:06 pm
With this Pepe guy around I expect an unconventional hiring by Djokovic – Becker was a surprise and unexpected hiring – Expect the unexpected with th floundering Djokovic –
Andrew Miller · May 7, 2017 at 10:59 pm
Scoop, Djokovic’s judgment is looking “awful”. What is wrong with him? Agassi and Sampras to my knowledge, and Federer and Nadal, to my knowledge, never parted with the people there from the beginning. Maybe Sampras with Pete Fisher, who was a guru in terms of his ridiculous tennis insights, but me thinks Djokovic has lost the ball here.
I see Dani Hantuchova also worked with this Fruitcake Pepe Imaz.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Scoop, this tumble in the last ten months has nothing to do with Becker, Vadja, the trainer etc. This has to do with the guy making decisions, which would be Djokovic.
It’s been an awful ten months for the future hall of famer. But I scratch my head, I scratch my head to make heads or tails of this house cleaning.
At this rate Djokovic is heading for the exits by the end of next year.
Andrew Miller · May 7, 2017 at 11:05 pm
Maybe Jelena Djokovic has messed him up. I thought she straightened the man out, but he is looking like spaghetti Os. Did she hate Becker or something? Was it the money?
All I know is Becker began to say things like Djokovic has stopped practicing properly and isn’t doing what a world class number one does to prepare, and shortly after that it was adios Boris Becker, kicked to the curb.
Now the entire staff.
Yeah, this looks bad. Why keep some dude who wrecked Hantuchova?
Maybe he just undercharges and with everyone out of the way can raise his rates.
I just don’t get it. This has been the worst drop in recent history for a hall of fame player in their prime. Worst drop.
Andrew Miller · May 7, 2017 at 11:08 pm
By saying “clean house” I meant fire the guru Pepe Imaz not fire Vadja and his trainer!!! Golly.
Just needed to be more precise. I don’t believe in firing the people that know you best. But I definitely believe in firing pretenders and odd characters.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 2:31 am
Andrew –
I think Kerber’s drop has been worse. Ok, she’s not in Djokovic’s class as a dominating player for years but her failures since the US Open have been incomprehensible.
She’s loyal to her team though. Not a hint of house-clearing in the pipeline.
I hope Sharpie does a Kvitiva on arrogant Bouchard, I really do.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 2:51 am
Kvitova obviously.
Bouchard talks too much. Always a sign of weakness. Jaw jaw jaw being better than war war war. In this case 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 6:25 am
We dont know the inner workings of former team Djokovic. Long time together maybe they grew stale. Was told Djokovic was verbally abusing his team in miami last yr. Who knows why but that was a very bad sign no matter who was right or wrong. Its hard to stay on top for many yrs when everyone is gunning for your downfall. Rafa and Fed tumbled down now its time for Djokovics tumble. Normal evolution of a great champion. He will get up and win more majors. But this Pepe clown has to prove his worth because right now hes viewed as a smooth talking freeloader.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 9:25 am
Scoop, to me the crazies have taken over at Team Djokovic.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 9:39 am
ESPN Tennis Pete Bodo on May 6 penned an article that summarized Team Djokovic train wreck. Bodo suggests personal issues derailed the Djokovic train. And that Pepe Fruitcake Imaz and Jelena Djoker are now in charge. Expect this train wreck to continue piling up.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 9:47 am
Angelique Angelique – why do you put us through it ?
Hartt · May 8, 2017 at 9:54 am
Kerber won in the end. The Czech youngster, Siniakova, showed her inexperience when she could not serve out the match and Angie got that crucial break. But Siniakova played well in general. Andrew, you will be glad to hear that she is not allergic to the net and she plays a lot of doubles.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 10:03 am
Hartt –
Yes – in the end 🙂
But I was beginning to see myself coming to the time when I(and others I suppose) will stop believing in Kerber.
Whatever surface – slow hard, fast hard, clay, it’s a dire struggle for her.
Grass is the one remaining.
If you saw the whole match can you explain what happened in the second set ? The first seemed straightforward.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 10:14 am
Maybe Angie had a look at the draw – it’ll be a bouncing Bouchard or Sharapova next 🙂
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 10:48 am
Hartt, I like Siniakova and Sevastova. I first saw them on TV at US Open last September and was startled to see such variety in their games.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 10:55 am
Catherine, with all respect due Kerber for her unbelievable 2016 campaign, we’ve seen this shooting star syndrome before on the wta tour and for the most part it’s even a feature of the tour. Right now she’s looking like Mauresmo with Mauresmo’s two slam year.
Djokovic’ fall, even if his ranking is intact, is truly startling. We have seen massive screw ups on the men’s tour before, like Agassi or Sampras, but the guru thing and his wife overseeing his practices – come on, Jelena isn’t Steffi Graf.
Djokovic is shooting himself in the foot at close range. I don’t think it’s similar to Kerber with one caveat, that both did well last year and both are messing up royally this year. But Kerber is more like back to normal Kerber. Djokovic is pre 2010 Djokovic! That’s seven years ago.
Hartt · May 8, 2017 at 11:24 am
Andrew, not surprised you like those 2 players and I agree, they are fun to watch. I am now going to look for Siniakova’s matches.
Catherine, I did see the 2nd set. I started to watch the match to see how Kerber was doing and stayed with it because I was enjoying Siniakova’s play so much. The big difference in the 2nd set was Siniakova was aggressive, making some terrific shots and Angie was not nearly aggressive enough. She was also making a lot of UFEs.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 11:24 am
Andrew –
Yes I agree with you mostly – I didn’t really expect Angie to replicate last year, would have been a bridge too far I think, but I certainly thought she’d do better than she has – at 29 she’s been a long time on the circuit and might have developed the fortitude to maintain, as it were.
She won’t change her game now and doesn’t seem keen on changing her team – she’s comfortable with people who know her well. Can’t see a breakout from that.
Strikes me as a fairly conservative person overall.
But a title or two in 2017 would be reward for all the years and effort she’s put in.
Also, I suspect her attention is beginning to drift. Comes with age I’m afraid.
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 12:06 pm
Hartt –
Thanks for comment. Yes, I think something somehow has drained the aggression from Angie’s game.If only someone could reignite it – she’s still pretty fit so it’s not physical. It’s as though she’s holding back. And that’s a mental thing.
Bouchard or Sharapova will simply blow her away.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 12:22 pm
Catherine – Kerber’s form remains intact, but her confidence seems to be missing in action. She played truly courageously in the big tournaments of 2016. I think the media thing really unsettled her rhythm. She was even talking like the MVP last year and knew she earned it, she had dare I say it, the swagger of an athlete at the top of their game who looks out at the field of competitors and knows they mastered the field.
So yes, a serious drop. But Kerber isn’t turning to nutso gurus.
Hartt · May 8, 2017 at 12:38 pm
What I find interesting about Kerber is that last year she talked about working in the off season in 2015 to change her game, especially developing a more aggressive game. She clearly understood that was a key to her winning more often. So why has she abandoned that approach?
I agree that Sharapova will blow her away. (However much I don’t want that to happen.) Am not so sure about Bouchard. For all her talk Genie has been struggling with confidence issues for a long time now. That win against Cornet was huge. Anyway, it probably does not matter. I would be truly shocked if Bouchard beat Sharapova.
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 12:43 pm
Andrew; cheating on his wife is the word on the curb that I heard quite a bit but they could have fixed their troubles – Who knows who is in charge or who really called for the heads to roll – Who knows who has what kind of leverage over Djokovic now –
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 12:47 pm
Djokovic is on a leash now I would guess – Half a year can change a lot as Jelena was relegated to the back row of the Djokovic US Open box and she looked so out of it and disengaged – the division between her and the entourage was quite obvious –
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 12:49 pm
Czech players are crafty and known for their cleverness and variety – Strycova and Stepanek personify Czech craftiness –
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 12:51 pm
Catherine: I still say Kerber is peaking for the GSs not the lighter part of the schedule – Judge her season on how she does at all the GSs where shock losses happen and can happen to anyone –
Chazz · May 8, 2017 at 12:58 pm
Another disappointing performance from Sock. First the Davis Cup loss to Thompson, then the Houston loss to Johnson, who was playing well but still a match Jack should win. Then the loss to Mahut a 48th ranked 35 year old. Clay is supposed to be Sock’s best surface. He shouldn’t be losing matches like these if he wants to be in that elite top 10 group.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 1:39 pm
Scoop, Jelena Djokovic seems to be of the mind that keeping Novak Djokovic on a leash, even as that results in horrible tennis results and losses piling up, is preferable to trusting him and any team he put together. We always knew Djokovic was a charismatic guy who loved having friendships with good looking wta stars who would appear in his courtside players box, but she has clearly forced his hand here.
I hate speculating. I’d guess that this was a full on dismissal, a true statement from Jelena Djokovic that she expected Djokovic’s handlers to keep him away from distractions. But why fire the team? Why not Djokovic’s managers aka herself?
Anyways. All of this smacks of absolute control. Jelena Djokovic has proven that her disapproval can bring a world class player to their knees. This power play must be amusing to her, but it has a price, not just on Djokovic’s legacy as a future hall of fame player, but also in other areas such as prize money and endorsements, which from my understanding the Djokovic family enjoys and Jelena Djokovic enjoys.
Anyways this looks like extreme payback. I have no faith in Djokovic being able to coach himself – the best players who have been “coach less”, like Federer, have always had a small stable of excellent trusted coaches around then, even when there was no high profile coach by their side.
Djokovic’s coaching decisions are on the same level as challenger level players who forego a coach because they have to decide between groceries and coaching. And it’s stupid because what doesn’t Djokovic have in the bank?
Jelena Djokovic, you deserve better from Djokovic. But you don’t deserve to be his coach.