Twelve-time Grand Slam winning Novak Djokovic has parted company with his entire coaching team in a bid to bring a halt to his recent slump in form.
“I feel like this is a new chapter in my life,” Djokovic said in his statement. “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.”
After getting off to a flying start in 2016, winning both the Australian and French Opens, the Serbian’s form took an alarming dip as he bowed out of Wimbledon in the third-round, lost in the first-round of the Rio Olympics and then went down to Stan Wawrinka in the US Open Final.
The move, which Djokovic himself described as a “Shock Therapy” measure, is made all the more significant by the fact that Marian Vajda, his former coach and mentor who had been alongside the 29-year-old Serb for almost all of his career, is one of those to have been culled.
Djokovic has never been hesitant to refresh his coaching team but Vajda has been an ever-present since 2006.
Djokovic introduced the multiple German Grand Slam Champion Boris Becker as head coach in 2013 but this partnership was short lived as the 49-year-old parted company with the player in 2016.
Becker admitted that the last six months coaching Djokovic were challenging and said the Serbian should have practiced more.
“He didn’t spend as much time on the practice court in the last six months as he should have and he knows that… success like this doesn’t happen by pushing a button,” said Becker, hinting at the reasons behind Djokovic’s loss of form.
