Novak Djokovic has responded to alleged comments made by his coach, Marian Vajda, in a recent interview with Slovakian website sport.sk.
In the article Vajda was quoted as saying that he was a key driving force behind the removal of Pepe Imaz from the team and credited Djokovic’s resurgence to a change in his diet. At the time Djokovic and his staff had refrained from commenting. But now, it appears that the interview may have caused some tension within the team of the former world No.1
“I spoke with Marian because, in all honesty, it seemed strange to me that the things that had been written and reported as his statements, had been actually said by him. We spend a lot of time together, we’ve been together for ten years and when we talk about food and Pepe – these “delicate” topics that everyone wants to read, especially in Serbia – he simply has always given me the impression of having a different opinion. We talked about it, and he said he had not made the statements reported in that article,” Djokovic told Sport Klub in an interview given by him about what actually happened.
Continuing to hit back at the claims that were made, the world No.6 has insisted that he maintains a close friendship with Imaz. A former tennis player, who now coaches and teaches the philosophy of Amor Y Paz (love and peace) at his own academy in Spain.
“Here is the truth. As per the nutrition it is incorrect that Marjan and Gebhard (the physical trainer Gebhard Phil-Gritsch) have in no way influenced me, my diet has been the same for three years now.” Djokovic explained.
“Pepe is always a person close to me, my brother, my family and my wife. We recently met in Marbella (home of Imaz’s Academy), Marian was with Pepe, we all had lunch together, we spent some time on court. It’s a perfectly normal and friendly relationship.”
In the wake of the interview Vajda was confronted about what he had allegedly said. The Djokovic camp has now said that those words have been ‘reported out of context’ by the Slovakian website. Who have not responded to the allegation.
“I do not know how this whole story came up. I talked to Marian immediately afterwards because I wanted to make it clear if there really was something that bothered him about the food, Pepe or anything else. He told me that he has nothing against it. It is as if Marjan’s quotes had been reported out of context. We still discuss about these topics on a daily basis, but that interview led to further confusion.” He said.
‘It was nobody’s fault’
In recent months there has been theories about the reasons behind a decline in Djokovic’s form on the tour prior to his injury hiatus. Imaz was accused of being a bad influence for his somewhat unconventional approach to tennis. Others said that it was Djokovic’s personal life that caused his brief downfall in the sport.
Responding to those rumours, the 31-year-old has rubbish them. Stressing that it was all down to him and that he was influenced by nobody.
“When I lost the No. 1 ranking, people started talking about Pepe, food, everything but myself. As if they were the ones to blame on for the way I was playing. Or that it was my wife who did not let me eat meat, this is something that really does not deserve to be commented … “ He said.
“Most people, when in difficulty, choose to find a culprit outside, or at least this is my impression. But I’m not that kind of person and I was not raised like that. I always take responsibility for my choices. I am 31 years old and it is not possible for someone to influence me so much that it upsets me and completely changed my life. I think I’m an adult and strong enough to make my choices in life and to surround myself with the right people. And them, including Marjan, support my decisions.”
The Wimbledon champion has also taken a swipe at the media over how they have covered his collaboration with Imaz. Saying that the coverage has resulted in a decline in people attending Imaz’s academy due to ‘distorted information.’
“Newspapers write about everything, I cannot control this. Everyone has the right to say what they think, I accept it. But I think it makes no sense to provide a distorted image of me and the people around me.” He argues.
“This makes people’s lives difficult, because all these titles and newspaper articles, including Spanish ones, have created problems to Pepe’s academy. My brother and him have been working in his tennis school for three years. They had about 80 boys and now they have less. Since, those articles, people have stopped sending their kids to them. Because they think it is, I do not know, a sort of sect, they wrote everything about them, as if they were people who could negatively affect those boys.
“For this reason, I would ask all the media to take these aspects into account, to be informed, to pay attention to what I say and not to the speculations of others or what blogs report. Journalists should keep in mind they significantly influence public opinion. As a consequence, people begin to look at you in a completely different way.”
Djokovic will play Richard Gasquet in the third round of the US Open on Saturday.
