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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during the final against Spain?s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during the final against Spain?s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
One of the most sacred relationships is between a coach and his students. The contribution of a coach in a player’s life is uncountable. However, often they fail to get their due credit. Novak Djokovic and his coach Marian Vajda shares a unique bond between them. This bond exceeds the relationship between a coach and his student. No wonder they have been one of the most successful coach-student pairs in the sporting sector.
Marian Vajda has been with Djokovic since his early days. The 55-year-old Serbian aims to be with Djokovic until he takes every record to his name. However, he prefers to invest in short term goals and aims to claim the 20 Slam record soon.
“I hope until he breaks all records. Let’s start by winning more than 20 Grand Slams together!”, Vajda stated.
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Vajda believes in a proper relationship between a guide and the disciple. Emphasizing on being a friend whom the student can trust and treat like a family should be the primary reason for every coach. Vajda has been successful in establishing friendly relations with Djokovic, As a result, they have been able to perform consistently for a long time.
“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. In 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 fulfill his and his family’s 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.”
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France -Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with the runners up trophy after losing the French Open final against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Charles Platiau
Novak Djokovic continues his quest for 18th Slam
The Serbian is chasing the big two, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in terms of total Grand Slams. He currently sits with 17 Grand Slams. Djokovic was confident about clinching his 18th title this season. However, the unfortunate ‘default’ in the US Open 2020 and an unstoppable Nadal in the French Open 2020 crushed his dreams.
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Djokovic will be going to the upcoming Australian Open as one of the favorites to win the trophy. Winning a total of 8 Australian Opens, Djokovic is likely to defend his title and take the Slam home.