Vajda : "It happended at a cost. There was a price to pay"

Marian Vajda, the long time coach of Novak Djokovic, accepted to come back on this 2016 season marked by the history made in Paris and some tough moment in the second part of the year. Goals, stress, fitness, emotions, motivation, injuries : we put all on the table.

(Crédit : Zimbio)

Have you been a worried coach those past few weeks ?

No, I am not worried. First of all we have to take the year in its all complexity, because he completed the Grand Slam, four Majors in a row, which was amazing and didn’t happen since Rod Laver. All the focus was to win the French Open : it was double focus basically with the four in a row and the French. Obviously after that, the level of focus went down. I think this goal (RG) drained him so much already that he lost the focus during the end of the season. Andy became number 1, which he deserved. As for Novak, you can’t push too much. He’s been competing for so many years, so lapses like this can happen. Suddenly his focus wasn’t enough because to stay at the top level you need to work all the time with high focus. It happened that Andy can handle it now, is at the top, but Novak is still there, is now enjoying again and hopefully now the focus will be there in the matches.

He said he lost the joy to play, and talks about a burn out were going around this summer...

I don’t know how to name it, but it’s the consequences of everything. He lost in the first round in Rio and it was a tough moment for him. He also got injured, so for me to see him reaching the US Open final was a miracle. The final didn’t go well, but we have to always remind that he reached a Grand Slam final and stay in the positive way : that’s the way he should think and never forget that. But this year was very very tough and we were expecting it : but we’ve had things happening in a very good way, just that it happened at a cost. There was a price to pay.

Do you think it's also because people think he’s a machine ?

Yeah but you can see it with Roger, Rafa, Novak and Andy : they are on top all the time, their focus is amazing and not many players can keep it up. For me it’s amazing to just think of how many years they’ve been staying there at the top, all the time. I suppose they have something special, they don’t need to convince themselves because it’s inside of them. But they’re human beings and also they have a life out of tennis, so outside things are happening which is normal. You want to be all the time professional, but you can’t always, it’s part of the life. I see Novak's whole situation as a combination of factors that can happen. People talk about crisis, but it's impossible to win everything all the time. The main issue isn't his love of the sport, I think the main issue is his focus. Without it, you’re not sharp enough, the match goes very fast and you lose. It’s all the consequences happening since after Paris. It’s not only one match, it’s complex and you have to take it like this. We take him as someone who can’t lose, but he can. Obviously he was barely losing before so it’s new for him, and obviously he’s been n°1 for many years… But I don’t think we need to find one special reason, to dig that much and to make a drama out of it. It happens, that’s all.

He looks mentally much better here in London no ? 

Yeah and he is : he’s fine ! He’s just finding a way to go through this as he doesn’t want to go through this much emotional stress anymore. He wants to release that stress in some way. It’s not an experiment, because the game is there. I hope he’s gonna be fired up here and find the intensity. But tennis is difficult at this level as you have to be at your best every week. He just wants to reduce that stress.

You weren't in Paris : was there a need to leave him a bit on his own ? There was also lots of talks about Pepe Imaz...

Yeah too. And he worked with Pepe Imaz before in the past. He’s using him for this goal of reducing the stress. You need to find something. Like you arrive in Paris where you’ve won many times before and suddenly you’re supposed to win again, it all comes in flashbacks to you and it’s extremely important : so much stress. He was learning through meditation to reduce this stress. But there’s no reason to start talking about manipulation of his mind : he’s fine ! That was exagerated too much : he worked with him already in the past but suddenly everybody’s like “wow, who is this guy ?” They’re trying to find a story… Tennis is entertainment… Novak is fine with it.

Is there a feeling that this crisis talk is unfair because his season has actually been pretty great ?

Exactly ! And I’m pointing it out : it’s a very unbelievable year ! Four Grand Slams in a row and Paris that he had never won. You can not make as if these things didn’t happen because then it’s not nice… Ok, people want to see him winning, winning and winning but it’s not possible every time. What he has achieved is amazing and we have to take it this way, in a positive way.

Was the outside pressure too much at some point this year ?

Everybody interprets things in the way they want to see him, but he just wants to be the way he wants to be. They see him always winning, and media are very tough on every athlete : obviously they make a lot of money, have a lot of success, etc. So they want to see him that way but it doesn’t work with him anymore. So maybe he’s changing something, which is good for him. People need to see that it’s amazing to be an athlete at this level for so many years. A guy like Bjorn Borg ended it at 26 because he couldn’t handle the pressure. This pressure is amazing, and very tough to play every week and winning, winning, winning. He’s adjusting his schedule, just to play longer. We have to every time feel good and go for it, ready. There was also an other factor because Novak won everything. And then at the tournaments he feels like he won, won and won again so what now ? Grand Slams should be priority and so he should be ready for that.

What about the number 1 ? Sometimes, whhen you lose something you realize how much you want it ?

Sure, but I don’t think he thinks this way to be number 1 again. He’s been there for years. Obviously it’s a competition, but he has accepted that for now he’s lost it and on the long run what is left for him really ? Grand Slams. This is tough to find the motivation at every tournament. In the mind it’s like : ok what’s next ? Every champion wanna win the Grand Slams. It’s always the motivation. Something has to drive you, I think it’s good. That's what keeps you moving, that's what keep the fire burning inside those guys. I'll go with him whatever, I know him so well, so I try to understand and accept. As long as I have the motivation and I’m compatible with him, that’s fine. We have a fantastic relationship, an amazing bond. I’m happy for him that he’s having his family, a normal life as a father and all the obligations that go with it (laughs). Most of all he needs balance. Extreme isn’t good. The priority is his life in general, even if sometimes it’s tough to combine. But really, he’s doing great.

How do you see the preparation for 2017 going ?

He’ll focus more on his health issues. Now we have to be smart, he’s nearly 30 years old. Injury occurs because the pressure on the body has now been there since so many years. We have to be really careful, we can’t push him to go for three hours like before or now the knee, the elbow, the shoulder : this stuff comes up. We have to maybe reduce, adjust the practices but it’s no big deal. Novak likes to practice and he’ll be ready for the first Grand Slam.