Djokovic and Agassi split

[El Dude]

I don't think Boris will come back. Consider that bridge sufficiently burned.

You mean the bridge Boris is living under?

 

[Moxie]

It's even weirder when you consider the only person he's kept is Pepe Imaz his "spiritual coach". Doesn't seem like it's tennis he's looking for! Maybe he's searching for his inner 25yr old

However reliable a narrator Becker is, he basically said when he left that either Imaz goes or I go, so Novak sent him off. Similar speculations when he sent his whole old team off, and kept Imaz. Now Andre is talking about "agreeing to disagree." But wasn't Radek Stepanek coaching him? Anyone notice him in the box in IW or Miami?

 

[Ricardo]

However reliable a narrator Becker is, he basically said when he left that either Imaz goes or I go, so Novak sent him off. Similar speculations when he sent his whole old team off, and kept Imaz. Now Andre is talking about "agreeing to disagree." But wasn't Radek Stepanek coaching him? Anyone notice him in the box in IW or Miami?

Bizarre, Imaz has less than Becker in tennis pedigree yet Novak keeps him? He went onto highest of the highs under Boris for 3 years, and as soon as Imaz came in he dropped like a rock...what is Novak thinking?

 

[Ricardo]

Radek is different to Agassi, he gets paid so he is happy to shut up about Imaz and still stays on the team.

 

[isabelle]

expected split

 

[britbox]

Bizarre, Imaz has less than Becker in tennis pedigree yet Novak keeps him? He went onto highest of the highs under Boris for 3 years, and as soon as Imaz came in he dropped like a rock...what is Novak thinking?

Peace and harmony to all maybe... Except that isn't how he's going to get back on track. Novak needs to re-discover the Eye of the Tiger.

 

[mrzz]

Peace and harmony to all maybe... Except that isn't how he's going to get back on track. Novak needs to re-discover the Eye of the Tiger.

I heard that some folks were sitting next to Nadal and Federer on a bar in Mallorca and that they heard them saying that Djokovic is a sissy.

 

[El Dude]

I heard that some folks were sitting next to Nadal and Federer on a bar in Mallorca and that they heard them saying that Djokovic is a sissy.

You trouble maker.

 

[Federberg]

You trouble maker.

Lol! I think he'll be fine. Now if he'd said 25yr old sissy that would be entirely different

 

[Moxie]

Peace and harmony to all maybe... Except that isn't how he's going to get back on track. Novak needs to re-discover the Eye of the Tiger.

That seems to be the "cut-to-the-chase" on what everyone is saying, and I mean beyond these forums. It doesn't seem that anyone believes that his problem is in his elbow, but above the neck. A lot of talk about how thin he is, even since last year, and so maybe this ties into loss of strength, fitness and stamina. But it's the drive that seems absent. @mrzz suggested a little while ago that he go back to his original team, headed by Marion Vajda. I think that's excellent advice, if they'd have him. Maybe keep Stepanek...why not? But if Pepe Imaz is poisoning his relationships with better coaches, trainers, voices, he should shit-can him.

 

[mrzz]

^Probably all the world and his dog are telling him to assemble the old team back together. As a great champion, he must be quite stubborn. Let's see how much time does it take for him to swallow his pride. My bet is six months.

About head and elbow, I guess now it is all in the head, but the elbow issue was there previously, no doubt about that.

 

[Moxie]

I do think the head issue came first, and the elbow is just an add-on distraction.

 

[Chris Koziarz]

I think Novak is a bit emotionally unstable/impatient for a player of his calibre. He was blaming his contact lenses for slower reactions or his shoes for bad footwork when he was loosing. Have we seen anything like that from other members of Big4 ? Never. Fed has complained about his back after his first big loss to Birdie in Wimby but that was very minor and later corrected himself. Now Fed just always praises his opponents.

On a longer term, Novak blamed his diet on his poor performance in his early 20s. He strongly rebounded from that episode in 2011 (aged 24) when he found he's gluten intolerant. I wonder if he can make the history repeat itself now at a riper age of 31, and what kind of excuse will he find to help lifting his confidence. He needs to blame something and announce it loudly: like the gluten intolerance stuff & the tennis diet book he wrote. If he does not announce anything, it means the problem (even if it's only mental) stays in his head and impede him to the end of his career.

 

[10isfan]

My only question is whether he will wake up from this stupor and regret the valuable time and opportunities he’s wasted primarily because of Pepe. Who came into his life first? Pepe or the Indian mistress?

 

[Federberg]

Wow! Just hearing that Novak has not only split from Agassi, but Stepanek as well. Weirder and weirder. I hope for his sake he's working on building a new team, otherwise this is just crazy

 

[Obsi]

 

[mrzz]

I think Novak is a bit emotionally unstable/impatient for a player of his calibre. He was blaming his contact lenses for slower reactions or his shoes for bad footwork when he was loosing. Have we seen anything like that from other members of Big4 ? Never. Fed has complained about his back after his first big loss to Birdie in Wimby but that was very minor and later corrected himself. Now Fed just always praises his opponents.

On a longer term, Novak blamed his diet on his poor performance in his early 20s. He strongly rebounded from that episode in 2011 (aged 24) when he found he's gluten intolerant. I wonder if he can make the history repeat itself now at a riper age of 31, and what kind of excuse will he find to help lifting his confidence. He needs to blame something and announce it loudly: like the gluten intolerance stuff & the tennis diet book he wrote. If he does not announce anything, it means the problem (even if it's only mental) stays in his head and impede him to the end of his career.

I may not agree with this 100% but this is surely a good analysis.

Answering the tweet Obsi posted, good to know that he will go coachless for a while. Certainly the needed intermediate step in order to team back with Vajda and the rest of the old gang. Being a stubborn myself, I know how this works...

 

[Federberg]

I may not agree with this 100% but this is surely a good analysis.

Answering the tweet Obsi posted, good to know that he will go coachless for a while. Certainly the needed intermediate step in order to team back with Vajda and the rest of the old gang. Being a stubborn myself, I know how this works...

I'm a stubborn S.O.B myself mate (as I'm sure you know ), sometimes with these coaching relationships lines are crossed that can never be uncrossed. If I was Vajda (assuming he still wants to be involved) I would attach myself to some new up and comer, and even if Novak comes back begging I wouldn't go back. He doesn't seem like a good bet anymore

 

[mrzz]

I'm a stubborn S.O.B myself mate (as I'm sure you know ), sometimes with these coaching relationships lines are crossed that can never be uncrossed. If I was Vajda (assuming he still wants to be involved) I would attach myself to some new up and comer, and even if Novak comes back begging I wouldn't go back. He doesn't seem like a good bet anymore

You, stubborn? Really?... Noooo!

Now seriously, in fact I haven't thought about this from Vajda's point of view... it is a good point and he could well say no.

On the other hand, I guess he watched Djokovic grow, both as player and from a teenager to man. In that case the relationship is not simply professional, it is indeed assymmetrical, and Vajda could play the role of the father who waits for the wayward son with open arms.

 

[Carol]

Novak looks more desperated than anything else, he is into a labyrinth and he can’t find out the exit