I need shock therapy, says Novak as he dumps coach
NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S desperation to reverse his slide saw him opt for the ‘shock therapy’ of splitting with his coach and key support staff yesterday.
As the Serb approaches his 30th birthday, there is something of a tennis middle-age crisis look about his decision to go it alone, having parted with coach Boris Becker at the end of last year.
Djokovic will have nobody beyond his management and family helping him at next week’s Mutua Madrid Open. It adds to another major change which is in the pipeline, as wife Jelena is pregnant with their second child. The world No 2’s long and conciliatory statement described the move as ‘shock therapy’, adding: ‘I want to continue raising the level of my game and stamina. I enjoy this journey, it feels like I am starting something new again and I love this challenge.
‘I am a hunter and my biggest goal is to find the winning spark on the court again. It was not an easy decision, but we all felt that we need a change.’
All three of those going — coach Marian Vajda, fitness coach Gebhard Phil-Gritsch and physio Miljan Amanovic — have been integral to the glittering career which has delivered 12 Grand Slams.
Vajda, more or less a permanent presence since 2006, said: ‘We arrived at the point where we all realised we need new energy in the team. Novak can do so much more and I am sure he will.’
After winning the French Open last June to complete the career Grand Slam, Djokovic has, by his lofty standards, been in a sustained slump. He lost early at Wimbledon, the Olympics and in January’s Australian Open, although he did reach the US Open final. Andy Murray took his No 1 ranking in November. He has also been exploring his spiritual side, and at times has been accompanied by Spanish coach and new-age thinker Pepe Imaz.
Murray was last night drawn in the opposite half of the draw to Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in Madrid. The Scot will face Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Romanian Marcus Copil after a first-round bye.
In the women’s draw, Maria Sharapova was lined up with a potential second-round grudge match. If she can beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the first round, she will meet either Eugenie Bouchard or Alize Cornet, both of whom have been opposed to her getting wildcards after her comeback from a doping ban. Last week Canadian Bouchard said she thought Sharapova should have been banned for life after testing positive for meldonium. French player Cornet has also been critical of some at the WTA Tour for showing support to Sharapova on her comeback.
The Russian needs to reach the third round in Madrid to guarantee making Wimbledon qualifying without a wildcard. She has to make the final to get into the SW19 main draw. After Madrid she has one more event, in Rome, to try to boost her ranking before the Wimbledon cut-off. Britain’s Jo Konta, the No 6 seed, has a very difficult first-round draw against Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who won Sharapova’s comeback event last week in Stuttgart.