“Not Close to Stopping”: Coach Marian Vajda Predicts Novak Djokovic’s Reign to Continue In the Near Future

After clinching his 20th grand slam title by defeating Matteo Berrettini in the finals of Wimbledon last week, Novak Djokovic is up for his next big challenge, which is to win the US Open.

The Serbian star is yet to announce his decision regarding Tokyo Olympics. When asked about the same post Wimbledon victory, Djokovic remained unsure of his travel to Japan due to the stringent restrictions imposed on athletes at the Olympic village.

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However, the prospect of making a golden career slam for the first in a calendar year after Steffi Graf might push Djokovic forward.

Novak Djokovic is the front-runner at this year’s US Open as well as at the Tokyo Olympics

With the likes of Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer, etc. already announcing their withdrawals from the Summer Olympics, Djokovic will be an absolute favorite if he decides to participate.

Irrespective of his decision on Olympics, the US Open this year promises to be an intriguing contest as Big-3 will look forward to winning their 21st grand slam.

Usually, the US Open was the chance for next-gen players to prove their mettle as most of them were excellent hard-court players. In 2019, Daniil Medvedev came close to winning his first major title, but lost in a five-set battle to Rafael Nadal.

With the disqualification of Novak Djokovic at last year’s US Open, the tennis world was able to witness a new grand slam champion in the form of Dominic Thiem.

However, the prospects of next-gen taking over the Big-3 at this year’s US Open seem unlikely going by the current form of Novak Djokovic.

Speaking about the pressure on Djokovic when he tries to become the first men’s singles player to reach 21 slams, Marian Vajda, long-time coach of Novak, mentioned that it was the media who creates the narrative of pressure around the Serb.

“Novak knows how to do that” – Marian Vajda on media pressure

“He needs to avoid the media, because the media creates the pressure. Not to “avoid,” but to deal with it in the right way, and Novak knows how to do that. He won’t take some negative questions personally, for example. He has come a long way in handling that relationship”. 

The coach also remained optimistic that Djokovic’s magnificent run on-court will continue for years to come.

“We try to live in the present moment, because projecting too far can only be counterproductive. I could say two, three or four years, who knows, all I know is that he is not close to stopping. I do not want to limit him, let him play another year, then another, and then another”, concluded Vajda.

In the presence of an amazing team, the world number one is soaring at the top of men’s tennis and is all set to re-write history.

Also read: “We Are Still Counting His Majors”: Simona Halep’s Coach Darren Cahill Hails Novak Djokovic, Says He’ll Win Gold at Tokyo Olympics 2021