Djokovic admits struggles with backroom staff led to drop in performance

The Serbian star has admitted that changes in backroom staff disrupted his performance.

Novak Djokovic has opened on the constant changes in his backroom staff, which may have led to Serbian’s slump in form. Djokovic is back with his former coach Marian Vajda. The Serbian is undergoing recovery after an elbow injury, which kept him out of action for 6 months.

Djokovic has had an eventful timeline in his experience with changing backroom staff. He parted with Vajda only last year in May, in a bid to find the ‘winning spark.’ Previously, Boris Becker coached Djokovic for three years, with the duo splitting in 2016.

The Serbian also partnered with Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek, but they worked together for less than a year.

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His reunion with Vajda and Gebhard Gritsch comes after both worked in Djokovic’s prime years, when he collected various Grand Slam titles.

The 12-time Grand Slam Champion is currently participating in the Italian Open. In the first round, he defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1 6-3. He meets Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round.

Djokovic stressed that partnering with former team has had a positive impact on his mental and physical aspects of the game.

“I feel more comfortable on the court and more comfortable with my team,” Djokovic said after the first-round win.

Djokovic admitted that constant changes in the backroom staff hasn’t yielded any positive results for him. “Obviously that’s where I’ve made many changes in the past 12 months and that hasn’t brought a sense of, you know, comfort and peace to me,” Djokovic told the media.

A change leads to a lot of thoughts and that increases stress, according to Djokovic. “Do I need someone? Is that someone going to travel with me full time or not?” Djokovic recollected his concerns he faced during his struggles with backroom staff.

The Serbian emphasised that changes are good if they yield improvement in the game. “That’s what I’m focussed upon and we’ll see where it takes me,” said Djokovic.