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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« Previous 1 2 3 Next »catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 1:39 pm
Further note on Kerber which came up a while ago in the New Yorker – can’t remember who writes their tennis stuff but she commented that Angie seemed rather vague when discussing aggression, Steffi Graf and new aspects of her game. As if she wasn’t entirely conscious herself what was going on or was particularly insightful about it.
Andrew – I’m sure Angie’s too much of the pragmatic German to hire ‘nutso gurus’ – I think she’d find that plain embarrassing – but perhaps someone who can get at what’s going on in her mind might help. She seems totally reliant on Torben for the present and probably future.
Scoop – Angie should play a pre-W’don grass event. Grass is her best hope this year. She might as well skip FO. US Open – she’ll have flashbacks.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 1:43 pm
Again, it’s one thing to make Djokovic a better person and chaperone him. It’s entirely another thing to substitute yourself as head coach, even as your coaching ability is zero and you take a wrecking ball to a players game. Jelena Djokovic may have felt this was the only way, as she was betrayed by Djokovic and maybe his team also protected him from the consequences of being an idiot.
But running his career into the ground in the service of a happy domestic life isn’t what I call a successful family do over.
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 1:43 pm
Chazz; Sock is prone to these kinds of bad losses – he’s a target now and everyone gets up to beat Sock – he takes these early rounders lightly – he has to find a way to jack up his intensity and urgency and desperation levels vs early rounders –
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 1:45 pm
I give Sock a pass. Sometimes a loss wakes a player up.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 1:47 pm
Catherine, Kerber seems pretty resilient. For better or worse she isn’t Halep or Radwanska, who is truly MIA. Her results aren’t miserable, they aren’t last year’s. Maybe she just needs some Macci advice.
HIT HARDER!!!!!!
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 1:47 pm
She could have threatened Djokovic with divorce or who knows what? Cheating on the spouse or lover is catastrophic – A GF told me she found out her husband was cheating and called for a divorce that night and never spoke to or saw her ex again – Lawyers handled everything – totally cut the ex husband out of her life forever – And the word I kept hearing is Djokovic cheated not once but several –
Chazz · May 8, 2017 at 1:51 pm
There were some whispers, though hard to believe they are true, that Djoker was taking something that was banned last year and that coincides with his downturn. I think it was just random speculation as you never know these days with PEDs rampant in so many sports coupled with a sudden drop-off in performance.
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 2:11 pm
Chazz I heard this also – An ex player who is friends with Boris Becker said this off record –
catherine bell · May 8, 2017 at 2:14 pm
Andrew – Angie should attend that ‘HIT HARDER’ academy ! It’s exactly what she’s not doing 🙂
Re Djokovic – that romance stuff is such an old story. And it seems he and Jelena have reconciled sufficiently to have another baby.
Maybe he reached his peak and from now on he’ll be a high ranking but not extraordinary player.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 2:45 pm
Scoop, catastrophic for sure. Just don’t agree with elevating Pepe Fruitcake Imaz ahead of guys that know tennis and the player. Maybe Boris Becker was an awful influence on Djokovic. Was it necessary to promote this guru though?
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 3:13 pm
Scoop, you’re right. Djokovic is on a short leash for the rest of his career. He messed up his life. If this arrangement works for Jelena Djokovic, which I doubt, so be it.
Chazz · May 8, 2017 at 3:36 pm
I just noticed Tiafoe is in the Aix en Provence Challenger tournament. Interesting decision, as I assume he could have entered the Madrid qualifier if he wanted to. He is the 4 seed in the challenger, Jaziri is the top seed.
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 4:25 pm
Bouchard vs Sharapova a true battle. Maybe the sniping from the press conferences is making tennis more exciting like boxing promoters. They are in a winner take all third set.
Maybe Kerber should pick a fight or two.
Scoop Malinowski · May 8, 2017 at 4:46 pm
Sharapova vs Bouchard is the biggest grudge rivalry in tennis right now – Tennis needs this kind of tension and grudge –
Chazz · May 8, 2017 at 4:50 pm
Mesmerizing match. I can’t stand listening to Sharapova though. Seles or Sharapova? Seles please. Looking forward to the handshake!
Andrew Miller · May 8, 2017 at 5:04 pm
Bouchard KOs Sharapova. Wow. Mladenovic and Bouchard backed up their big talk. Sharapova’s return has electrified the tour after Kerber and Serena breathed life into it last year.
scoopmalinowski · May 9, 2017 at 5:45 am
Rumors abound now that Agassi will be Djokovic’s new coach.
Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 7:14 am
Despite Sock’s loss to Mahut, there have been some nice wins by American players on the clay of Madrid – Donaldson over Mannarino and Escobado over Feli Lopez. Ryan Harrison won the first set in his match today vs Tomic. I must check to see what is happening in the 2nd set.
Chazz · May 9, 2017 at 8:39 am
Hartt, I wish that was the case but Lopez actually beat Escobedo 4 and 4. Harrison appears to be playing really good tennis right now. That was a nice win over Tomic and Harry won a doubles title in Estoril this past weekend. His next match with Kyrgios will be fun to watch. A lot of power on clay. Donaldson playing against Thiem will be a good measuring stick for where he is.
Andrew Miller · May 9, 2017 at 9:17 am
Harrison! Donaldson! Clay?! Doubles title?! Give these guys a medal. They showed up in Europe and are throwing the kitchen sink at opponents. Finally. Some courage out there.
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2017 at 9:33 am
Harrison’s first doubles title and second ATP title overall. Harrison is heading to top 30? He’s heading to career high ranking for sure. Where is Fritz?
Chazz · May 9, 2017 at 9:48 am
Top 30? Very possible. He’s up to 41 in the real time rankings. He is also possibly the greatest racquet smasher of all time. 🙂
Chazz · May 9, 2017 at 10:19 am
How about this for a doubles matchup going on right now: Ram/Klaasen vs Kyrgios/Sock.
Krzysztof · May 9, 2017 at 1:49 pm
If Blake was added as main coach and Agassi as supercoach, Djokovic would have two players with the most turbulent careers in terms of personal setbacks.
Andrew Miller · May 9, 2017 at 2:18 pm
Djokovic will double down on Pepe Fruitcake Imaz. Jelena will get him back…to a pre 2006 ranking.
Hartt · May 9, 2017 at 5:13 pm
I discovered my mistake about Escobedo vs Lopez – I blame it on the early morning and not enough coffee by then!
Doubles news: Kyrgios/Sock had a nice win over Klaasen/Ram. And to make me happy, Martin/Nestor won over Bopanna/Cuevas. And the excellent team of Kontinen/Peers prevailed over Marach/Pavis in a tight match.
Scoop Malinowski · May 9, 2017 at 5:57 pm
Hartt; You are a secret fan of Escobedo but you don’t know it yet – should get your Chipotle or Taco Bell gift cards now because he is going to win a lot in the next few years 🙂
Chazz · May 9, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Scoop, what should Hartt buy for all of Frances “It Can’t Be That Good!” Tiafoe’s future victories? 🙂
Andrew Miller · May 9, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Scoop, why do you like Escobedo? I like his up tempo game but admittedly he doesn’t have the weight of shit like Fritz or the deadly backhand of Donaldson. But to me he’s a gamer.
You and Dan saw him a few us open qualies ago, back in 2015? Does he have the intangibles? If pressed like last year against Kyle Edmund at the us open, will he make it through that match in 2017?
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 7:59 am
Funny guy Chazz funny guy and nice set up 🙂 But I have not noticed Hartt being a Tiafoe fan because she prefers the young Canadian players like Raonic Felix and Denis –
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 8:06 am
Andrew: Very high on Escobedo – What I like about Esco is hearing about him at Eddie Herr three years ago from insiders – they spoke highly about him and that was impressive and made me curious – who is this California kid that has all his respect? I love the kid’s game – Natural easy heavy power and moves well too – I watched him just blast top 50 Dan Evans off the court in Key Biscayne in April with his huge forehand and especially the inside out – Evans was manhandled by a kid – The Davis Cup captain Leon Smith was sitting right next to me and they were trying to implore Evans on but they just could not get him going – Evans got very negative and chastised himself for “just feeding him balls” as Esco was clobbering a lot of winners – Evans got a point penalty for saying a bad word which a lineswoman snitched to the chair ump and Evans tried to use that controversy argument to freeze Escobedo but it didn’t succeed – Escobedo looks like he belongs on the ATP Tour I like his poise and court demeanor and he’s a super nice kid too – Lot to like about Escobedo who can be a top US player someday – I think he is capable of winning tournaments soon –
Hartt · May 10, 2017 at 8:43 am
LOL. Thanks for the recommendations for future treats. Actually, both Tiafoe and Escobedo are on my secondary youngsters list. And agree that both have bright futures. But I must limit the number of players on the treats list. Now it is a big deal when one of them wins a title, don’t want to dilute that with too many players. 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 8:51 am
Cmon Hartt dont be afraid to be greedy 🙂 Winning is addicting for players and also their supporters 🙂
Hartt · May 10, 2017 at 9:22 am
Well, who knows, maybe I will change my mind! But right now I am spending so much time watching tennis that I haven’t even had time to buy strudel to celebrate Sascha’s Munich title. 🙂
The treats list is heavy on Canadian players because there is a special emotional attachment to them. But there are a few non-Canadians (also have an emotional attachment to them) – Andy, Sascha and Kohli among the men and Daria Kasatkina among the women.
Have several American players on the youngsters lists – Fritz, Tiafoe, Donaldson and Escobedo. Maybe I will start to feel attached to one of them and he will get on the treats list. Escobedo is the most likely candidate – there is something very appealing about him, and of course he has a terrific back story.
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 10:15 am
Interesting to see that Navratilova has publicly defended Sharapova and asked for the players to stop the verbal assaults – Could she lobbying for a coaching job?
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 10:24 am
Hartt what are your thoughts on Carling Bassett Seguso? Just did a Biofile with her and it was excellent – very interesting fascinating person and a great player in her day – stay tuned for it –
Hartt · May 10, 2017 at 12:19 pm
Scoop, am looking forward to the Biofile. Carling Bassett, as I still think of her, was a huge deal in Canada when she was playing. Until recently we have had few really successful tennis players, so she stood out at the time. Nice to hear she made a favourable impression.
catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 1:06 pm
Scoop –
Carling Bassett was never a ‘great’ player. I saw her play often and although she drew a lot of publicity because she was Canadian and blonde and attractive etc she never made a real impact on the court. I know she reached the top 10 but the last time I saw her play she lost in the first round at US Open in 1986 and not too long after that she married and left the game.
We discussed Carling a few threads back as I recall. She was marketed far beyond her ability which I thought was a shame and maybe in a way prevented her from realising her promise.
catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 1:59 pm
Scoop –
Well, good on Martina. At least someone with clout has said the right thing.
I doubt she’s lobbying for a coaching job. I’ve never thought she wanted to coach much.
She just wants to put a stop to the noxious comments floating around encouraged largely by the press I’m sorry to say.
Some people love to see women squabbling.
And Martina knows very well what it’s like to be a target for all sorts of unpleasantness.
Great player, generous person.
catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 3:18 pm
Any idea why Angie retired ? Looks like she was never in the match.
catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 3:30 pm
Apparently left thigh injury. If this is true maybe a chance for her to take a break from the game, miss the clay courts and come back to Wimbledon. She really hasn’t been around the last few months.
catherine bell · May 10, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Kerber looked as though she was crying as she left the court. what a horrible tournament Madrid has been in some ways.
Hartt · May 10, 2017 at 4:55 pm
It is always sad when a player is injured. Catherine, think you are right when you say a break could be a good thing for Angie.
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 8:11 pm
Catherine; Carling was a great player any player who gets into the top ten is great any player who gets to the SF of a GS is great – hck any player who gets an ATP point or WTA point is great – Carling Bassett lost to Steffi Graf after having two babies 64 64 at Amelia Island – To play the greatest of all time (Graf) to 64 64 proves you gotta be a great player –
Scoop Malinowski · May 10, 2017 at 8:16 pm
Catherine I like Sharapova but if you cheat and get caught cheating AND you have an arrogant aloof aura you have to expect blowback – Sharapova can handle it though –
catherine bell · May 11, 2017 at 2:00 am
Scoop-
Yes I understand. But I think the blowback has to stop and now might be a good time. Martina’s right.
Angie Kerber walking alone and in tears off the court in Madrid, in front of half empty stands, was one of the most poignant sights I’ve seen in any sport.
catherine bell · May 11, 2017 at 2:59 am
Can’t say I really care who wins the women’s event in Madrid, it’s been such a poisonous atmosphere.
Suppose it’ll be Simona, with assistance from Cahill.
Scoop Malinowski · May 11, 2017 at 8:01 am
Catherine; I think the blowback will only stop and should only stop if Sharapova makes some kind of gesture of peace and apology to the players – She has to change her ways – Sharapova is holding to this ‘it’s me against all these mean itches’ attitude which will only invite more tension and grudge –
Scoop Malinowski · May 11, 2017 at 8:02 am
Catherine; perhaps Sharapova is the poison as the WTA Tour sure got along fine without her –
catherine bell · May 11, 2017 at 8:43 am
No, Maria isn’t the poison. What sort of gesture do you want her make ? Crawl on her hands and knees ? She’s done her time, something people seem to forget. Particularly Bouchard who should have kept her mouth shut. She’s a silly girl.
The press created the hoo-ha. They wrote endless column inches and really bigged-up the story. And if the WTA was getting along fine without her, and it wasn’t, why the attention ? My suspicion is that some media outlets won’t let the story die and will go on nosing around for leaks from the dressing room. Because otherwise the WTA is in danger of becoming an enormous yawn.
I suspect Maria has too much Russian in her to care a hoot what the others think.