The coach of world No.1 Novak Djokovic believes it is only a matter of time before the Serbian break two records in the world of men’s tennis.
Marian Vajda, who has been a member of Djokovic’s team for over a decade overall, has backed his player to break the all-time record for most weeks spent as world No.1 on the ATP Tour. Which is currently held by Roger Federer who has spent a total of 310 weeks at the top spot but Djokovic is currently on track to overtake him during the first half of next year. Furthermore, Vajda believes he will eventually pass the Swiss maestro when it comes to the most Grand Slam titles won.
“That is his goal and I very much believe that it will happen. He can break all records. And he’s so close to doing that. He is healthy, he is still young compared to Federer, and we all support him in that,” he told Novosti.rs.
Djokovic currently has 17 major titles to his name compared to 20 for Federer and Rafael Nadal. This season he triumphed at the Australian Open but has fallen short at the other two Grand Slam events. At the US Open he was the hot favourite but got disqualified in the fourth round after accidentally hitting a lines judge with a ball. An unfortunate event for the tennis star but one Vajda says he is proud about how he handled the situation.
“You can’t say much in moments like that. You can only support him, as a coach, but also as a friend. The whole team and family stood behind him, and that was the most important thing to him,” he said.
“We know each other, we went through a lot together. I totally know what he’s going through. I was very happy when, after everything that happened, he accepted everything in a positive way.”
Less than a month after his New York mishap, Djokovic had another shot at adding to his major collection at the French Open where he reached the final. However, he was thrashed 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, by Rafael Nadal in what was one of the most one-sided matches in their extensive rivalry. Heading into the title match Djokovic’s other coach, Goran Ivanisevic, branded him the overwhelming favourite for the title.
“It was one of Novak’s bad days and the best day for Nadal,” Vajda reflected. “But Novak still remains the champion and is the first in the world (rankings). Our team is proud of his great results this year and is happy to work with him because he still has the motivation to improve in all areas and to be the best player in history.”
Vajda is a former player himself who peaked at a ranking high of 34th back in 1987. He won two titles on the ATP Tour and represented his country at the 1992 Olympic Games. After retiring from tennis, he also enjoyed stints working as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup captain for Slovakia.
Vowing to continue coaching Djokovic ‘until he breaks all the records,’ Vajda has also shed light on what the secret behind their successful partnership on the Tour.
“Long relationship! If you have such a long friendship with him as I have, for so many years, then you will succeed! We are like a family. And the magic word is – compromise. It always has to be. There are no other secrets,” he explains.
“At the beginning, when I was a very young coach, it was not easy with Novak. Both he and his family wanted to be the best in the world. So, I had to be an extremely good coach in order to fulfil his and his family dreams. I was focused from day one and I was not allowed to make mistakes. And, I don’t seem to have made a lot of them!’
“In time, I became not only a coach, but also a good friend.”
Djokovic will return to action later this month at the Erste Bank in Vienna. The tournament will start a week on Monday.
