Out-of-form Djokovic splits from long-term coaching team

Novak Djokovic has split from his longterm coaching team, saying he needs to “find the winning spark on the court again”.

Coach Marian Vajda, fitness coach Gebhard Gritsch, and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic have mutually agreed to part company with the 12-time Grand Slam champion after working together for more than eight years.

Vajda has been a mainstay of Djokovic’s team since 2006 and was a commanding figure within his coaching set-up.

Amanovic has been part of the world number two’s team for more than 10 years.

Gritsch, who introduced a sportsscience-based training schedule, was with the Serbian for exactly eight years.

Following discussions about the 29-year-old’s recent results and private issues of the three coaches, Djokovic has opted to make wholesale changes.

Djokovic has struggled since winning last year’s French Open, losing in the third round at Wimbledon later that summer and suffering a second-round defeat at this year’s Australian Open.

A statement from Djokovic on his website said: “I am forever grateful to Marian, GG and Miljan for a decade of friendship, professionalism and commitment to my career goals.

“Without their support I couldn’t have achieved these professional heights. I know they completely dedicated themselves and their lives to help me achieve my dreams and they were always my driving force and wind in my back. It was not an easy decision, but we all felt that we need a change.”

“I want to continue raising the level of my game and stamina and this is a continuous process. I am a hunter and my biggest goal is to find the winning spark on the court again.

“I feel like this is a new chapter in my life.

“My career was always on the upward path and this time I’m experiencing how it is when the path takes you in a different direction. I want to find a way to come back to the top stronger and more resilient.”

The world No 2 revealed he will not make an immediate decision on their replacements and will be managing his own routines whilst on tour until he announces his new coaching team.

golfsixes

Richie Ramsay believes golf’s governing bodies have been “sleeping at the wheel” as the sport’s search for its version of Twenty20 cricket begins in earnest.

This weekend’s inaugural GolfSixes features 16 two-man teams, each representing their country, competing over six holes in a greensomes matchplay format, where the teams select their best tee shot and play alternate shots thereafter.

The teams have been split into four groups of four, with the top two from each advancing to tomorrow’s knockout stages, when the quarter-finals, semifinals and final will all be played.

Each of the six holes has its own theme, including a long-drive contest, nearest the pin and a shot clock, where players will be penalised a shot for exceeding a 40-second time limit.

The European Tour has put up the prize fund of 1 million euros and chief executive Keith Pelley admits the event is an experiment, one which Ramsay feels is overdue.

“It’s different. It’s been a long time in coming,” said Ramsay, who represents Scotland alongside former World Cup winner Marc Warren.

“I’m not going to turn round and say GolfSixes is the answer to solving golf’s problems, but it’s a step in the right direction. There’s action being taken.

“I don’t know how blunt I can be but I think there’s been a lot of people sleeping at the wheel. A lot of different bodies have not been doing anything on this. They go on about, ‘This is a problem and that is a problem’, but you have to take action.

“Last week they had the Zurich (Classic of New Orleans) which was maybe the first time I’ve seen the PGA Tour copy the European Tour. That validates what we are doing. Hopefully we can take the good things from this and make it work.”

Chris Wood, who represents England alongside Ryder Cup team-mate Andy Sullivan, made it clear he is not a fan of some of the innovations on show at the Centurion Club in St Albans, especially the fireworks and music as the teams are introduced on the first tee.

But the 29-year-old from Bristol

One point is awarded for each hole won, with teams claiming three points for a win and one for a draw. A play-off will be used to determine qualifiers from the group stage if required, or the result of matches in the knockout stages.

If one play-off hole does not produce a winner, the match will be decided by a nearest-the-pin competition on the play-off hole. added: “Any time the Tour are willing to make some changes and try something different I’m willing to support it.

“It’s always going to bring up a few things that, once we’ve got through it, some players might not like it, people watching might not like it, but there’ll be some good stuff as well.

“Hopefully the six-hole format will work because everything is so instant these days and golf is one of the few things that isn’t.”

After being on the losing European Ryder Cup side at Hazeltine and finishing 13th in the World Cup in Melbourne, the English pair are hoping for a change of fortune on home soil.

Meanwhile, Pelley awaits the verdict on an event which has been somewhat hastily put together and inserted into a previously blank week in the schedule.

“To be totally honest we have been making it up as we go,” he admitted.

“Some things are going to work, some are not. We want feedback and then we will fine tune it and determine if and where this fits.

“There’s no question that everybody in the golf world is looking at us this week and that’s pretty exciting.”

Picture: PA. by Out of form: Novak Djokovic has split from his coaching team.

Picture: Getty. Richie Ramsay: glad action is being taken.