Novak Djokovic have turned to the help of his old faithful after confirming that he will not be seeking a direct replacement for former coach Boris Becker.
The world number two ended his highly successful three-year stint with Becker earlier this month following a testing second half of 2016. Since winning his maiden French Open title in June, Djokovic has been blighted by motivational issues as well as injury problems, resulting in the loss of his world number one ranking.
In the wake of the split, speculation has mounted about who the 29-year-old may collaborate with next. Recently the Serbian Telegraph (Telegraf.rs) reported that doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjić was a key contender to be Djokovic’s next coach, but this has now been denied by his spokesman according to The Times.
Charged with guiding Djokovic in 2017 will be Slovakian coach Marian Vajda, who has worked with the 12-time grand slam champion since 2006. He will now take over Becker’s former position as head coach for the Serbian player. Vajda held this role prior to the former German world No.1 joining the team in 2013.
Another prominent figure in Djokovic’s camp next year will be mental coach Pepe Imaz, who is a somewhat unconventional figure. Unlike other coaches on the tour, Imaz bases all of his teaching around ‘love and peace’ and stresses the importance of people finding the right balance.
“When you are emotionally well, logically well, things are going better, and if you are not emotionally well, things are not going so well. The world can have moments of downturn because there are too many things that can affect us. In the end what is important is to understand that they are not machines.” Imaz told Moviestar Plus in November.
Djokovic will return to the tour next month at the Doha Open, where he will be the defending champion. It is scheduled to be the only competition that he will participate in ahead of the Australian Open, which will start on January 16th.
