Becker to coach Djokovic

[nehmeth]

I've been away from all the tennis news for the past few weeks. The hiring of Becker was a shocker; having a difficult time understanding the choice as "head" coach over Vajda. I do believe he can add something to Novak's net game, but what more than that?

Another surprise was to learn the ITF named Novak their player of the year. Overall, Ralf was that guy. I guess at the slams, a no show at Oz and an early exit at Wimbledon must have weighed against him as much as the two wins in Paris and NYC favored him.

 

[Front242]

Re Becker, Novak has said the main thing he hired him for is his champion's insight and mentality. I'm hoping something good can come of it besides the net skills as the champion's killer instinct was sadly lacking in the slams this year for Novak, especially at Wimbledon. Saving your worst match for the final is not gonna win it. Hopefully 2014 will be much better.

Happy New Year, nehmeth

 

[nehmeth]

Happy New Year Front!

I certainly hope the Becker choice turns out better than the Todd Martin debacle.

 

[Front242]

Happy New Year Front!

I certainly hope the Becker choice turns out better than the Todd Martin debacle.

Damn straight. That Todd Martin serve made Sharapova look good some days!

 

[Mastoor]

Re Becker, Novak has said the main thing he hired him for is his champion's insight and mentality. I'm hoping something good can come of it besides the net skills as the champion's killer instinct was sadly lacking in the slams this year for Novak, especially at Wimbledon. Saving your worst match for the final is not gonna win it. Hopefully 2014 will be much better.

Happy New Year, nehmeth

That is probably the only thing No1e hired him, to remind him to be ruthless in important matches, something Nole seemed to forget since 2011. As for net game that nehmeth mentioned, I don't think Becker can teach him many things but he will probably encourage No1e to go forward more often than he normally does. [No1e even "Becker dived" in Abu Dhabi].

I was surprised too with No1e's coach choice. Couple of months ago I hoped he will hire Sampras. I was Agassi fan but the way Sampras was finding to get to the net and the way he dealt with pressure was second to none so I was thinking if there is anyone who can teach No1e something that must be Sampras.

 

[nehmeth]

I was surprised too with No1e's coach choice. Couple of months ago I hoped he will hire Sampras. I was Agassi fan but the way Sampras was finding to get to the net and the way he dealt with pressure was second to none so I was thinking if there is anyone who can teach No1e something that must be Sampras.

Sampras would have been an interesting choice. He was Nole's idol and would definitely have a lot to impart. This Becker announcement (to me) seems more of a Todd Martin misstep than a good choice. We will see.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I don't think Sampras is interested in coaching. He is not interested in travelling
around the world any more.

 

[tented]

As far as the news itself goes, I don't know what to make of it. There's nothing clearly "missing" in Novak's game that I feel needs to be rectified, at least not based on his run last fall. I also don't know what Boris would be adding, whether mentally, physically, or tactically, or whether something needs to be added to begin with.

Well, someone mentioned work at the net, where Boris was very fine, and Novak could use some improvement. But why would he become head coach, esp. with no experience? That seems surprising.

If the opposite had happened, and Becker had been named assistant coach, we would be discussing how odd it was that he wasn't named head coach.

However, I don't think it's surprising. Does anyone really think Becker would have accepted the position if he hadn't been named head coach?

I agree with those who predict this won't work. Actually, I predict it will only last a few months, if that. It will last longer than Connors/Sharapova, but it won't turn into another Murray/Lendl. Becker is too into the limelight. He needs to be famous. He gets off on being in front of the camera. Coaching won't satisfy his needs.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I don't think that because someone excelled at something as a player (ie Becker at the net), it necessarily means that is the area he's going to be able to help with the most. Becker has been watching the game forever, analyzing matches, etc... So there's much he can add, in theory. I agree with the majority though, I'm not sure the impact is going to be huge. In fact, while I expect Novak to do extremely well, I don't necessarily think it's going to be due to any significant Becker-induced changes. He hasn't lost a match in months, and that was before Becker's help.

 

[Mastoor]

I was surprised too with No1e's coach choice. Couple of months ago I hoped he will hire Sampras. I was Agassi fan but the way Sampras was finding to get to the net and the way he dealt with pressure was second to none so I was thinking if there is anyone who can teach No1e something that must be Sampras.

Sampras would have been an interesting choice. He was Nole's idol and would definitely have a lot to impart. This Becker announcement (to me) seems more of a Todd Martin misstep than a good choice. We will see.

Naye. Todd/No1e work was so unlucky that nothing like that is likely to happen ever again. Ans I don't think Becker is hired to change anything in particular, so he doesn't have a chance to screw up anything. He is there to talk to No1e, to discuss the things.

But one good thing is done already. Becker who attended No1e's post Wimbledon charity event requested Nole and Jelena to stop organizing those post slam parties. So you would expect Nole to be more focus on winning slams.

 

[nehmeth]

I predict it will only last a few months, if that.... Becker is too into the limelight. He needs to be famous. He gets off on being in front of the camera. Coaching won't satisfy his needs.

My thoughts too.

 

[Denis]

Sounded a bit weird at first, but I think it may work for a while. At least no more Becker during Wimbledon on the BBC :clap . I guess Vaida wants to coach his daughter a bit more and they both came to the conclusion that Vaida cannot bring the little extra to win more GS finals at this moment. And Djokovic probably wants to improve on his volleying.

 

[Kieran]

Sounded a bit weird at first, but I think it may work for a while. At least no more Becker during Wimbledon on the BBC :clap . I guess Vaida wants to coach his daughter a bit more and they both came to the conclusion that Vaida cannot bring the little extra to win more GS finals at this moment. And Djokovic probably wants to improve on his volleying.

Good post, Denis and nice to see you again. Totally agree about Becker in the commentary, for that reason alone I hope Nole goes deep , but also about Marjan's daughter, who is supposedly a future star in the game. He had said this wouldn't affect his work with Nole but blood is thicker, and all that.

I still think Nole can win majors with Marjan as the head coach though. He's not far off winning any of them he enters. I'm a bit bemused by other reports (I realise you didn't say this) that Becker is there to help him with the mental side of things, firstly because Nole is a greater player than Becker became - and Becker should have become so much greater than he did - but also because I never actually associated Boris with mental toughness or a steely resolve to be a best. He could be tough - but there were so many times he seemed uninterested, to be kind about it...

 

[nehmeth]

I'm a bit bemused by other reports that Becker is there to help him with the mental side of things, firstly because Nole is a greater player than Becker became - and Becker should have become so much greater than he did - but also because I never actually associated Boris with mental toughness or a steely resolve to be a best. He could be tough - but there were so many times he seemed uninterested, to be kind about it...

:snigger. "uninterested" is a very kind way of saying it. Becker was much closer to erratic than he ever was to mental toughness.

 

[Kieran]

Exactly! Boris was great in defeat. He was generous and oozed charm. He loved his little loser lap of honour at Wimbledon. I've often felt that Nole likes too much to be liked and he has a similar brittleness to Becker, but really, Nole is superior. He's making efforts throughout his career to be the very best. Becker never showed such drive or desire. He was great - 6-slam great - but he should have reached double figures.

Maybe Nole wants him around to ask how it shouldn't be done...

 

[brokenshoelace]

I'm a bit bemused by other reports that Becker is there to help him with the mental side of things, firstly because Nole is a greater player than Becker became - and Becker should have become so much greater than he did - but also because I never actually associated Boris with mental toughness or a steely resolve to be a best. He could be tough - but there were so many times he seemed uninterested, to be kind about it...

:snigger. "uninterested" is a very kind way of saying it. Becker was much closer to erratic than he ever was to mental toughness.

Yup. That's why I noted above that it's tough to speculate on the specifics of what a coach is there to help a player with. We tend to look at what the coach excelled at as a player and automatically assume that's what he's there to help him with, but I'm not so sure that's always accurate. And I'm pretty damn sure Becker isn't the first player to come to mind when discussing mental toughness. I also don't think Novak is lacking in that regard. I know it was a fashionable explanation for his "below par" results last year but that's conjecture at best. Sometimes, a player is just not playing lights out tennis all the time. I did think Novak was at times lacking focus in key moments last year, but there are times where things are as simple as "he just didn't play good enough," which I felt was the issue with Novak in the two finals he lost last year. It's happened to many players, including one Rafael Nadal, who, I'm sure we'll agree, is not lacking anything between the ears.

Novak recovered well from his losses on his own, as evidenced by his stellar run late last year, so I doubt he really needs Becker to help him with anything in that regard. I'm liking the theory that Vajda is more focused on his daughter and Novak just needed a new full time coach. Becker ended up being the choice, which I'm skeptical about.

However, I will say that we shouldn't be too harsh -- or too generous -- with Becker unless we see something concrete beyond mere results. And what I mean by that is say Novak wins the AO again, does that mean Boris deserves credit? Unless Novak is doing something specific on court that Becker advised him on, or implemented some Becker-masterminded strategy, that shouldn't necessarily be the case. He's been doing well enough in this tournament without Becker for the past 3 years. Likewise, if Novak loses to Nadal or someone else in the final, is it Becker's fault? Unless we see evidence of Novak serving on his knees again, I'm not so sure.

I guess we should just wait and see.

 

[Moxie]

Unlike Lendl with Murray, I'd say it'll be hard to see a "Becker effect" with Novak, unless it's in the negative, for reasons like the ones you site above, BS. Certainly not if he wins in AO, or loses in a final. Djokovic's game is already very solid, so it's difficult to imagine what could change dramatically in the positive. (Djokovic could have incrementally more positive results in the next few months, but would we put it down to Becker? I'd say he could have, anyway.) However, if Vajda has other commitments, Novak will want to have someone at the helm in his corner, and in that case, it does seem that Becker is a mysterious choice, but maybe they just click on some personal level.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Yeah, the differences between Murray/Lendl and Djokovic/Becker are numerous. Murray hadn't yet won a slam, and there were obvious issues with his game that were preventing him from taking that leap. With Djokovic, what do you tell a guy who's been winning as much as he is for the past 3 years, and who's currently riding a big winning streak? Of course, that is not to say that a coach isn't necessary if you're winning, or that there is absolutely nothing Becker can help Novak with, but it's just that he isn't as "needed" as Lendl was for Murray.

 

[brokenshoelace]

One thing DOES worry me about this Becker-Novak combination: I've noticed from listening to 80's/90's players on commentary, and reading their interviews throughout the years, that "attack the net more" seems to be their de facto solution for everything. I worry for Novak that Becker might try to encourage him to do that more, as well as other things that are somewhat unnatural to him such using the slice backhand more. I know these are the two obvious things that Novak can improve on, and they happen to be things that were important in Becker's day, but sometimes it's better to just focus on what you're excellent at.

Case in point, Djokovic and Nadal. Yes, both improved on the aspects they really needed to improve on throughout the years, and they should continue to work on weaknesses, but placing over emphasis on them and employing approaches that are a bit alien is often ill-advised (and Nadal is living proof, since he is not exactly a "complete" player, neither is Novak for that matter). I argued against that vociferously when Nadal was on a huge losing streak to Novak and people came up with all sorts of crazy suggestions regarding the adjustments he needed to make, and I maintain that today. Yes, Novak's volleys can use some sharpening and his slice isn't great, but both can be compensated for with his excellent approach shots and his tremendous cross court backhand (meaning he seldom needs to use the slice anyway). So while working on his volley/slice is fine, using them more often is less so.

 

[Front242]

If I were Becker I'd have Djokovic practice overheads like a MF for one thing! Though they have improved somewhat lately thankfully.