Vajda is back!!!

[Mastoor]

Hello my friends.

Finally some good news about Nole. Vajda came back to the rescue!!! I am very optimistic about this. Seems Vajda has already persuaded Nole to start practicing more and he will hopefully make him eat a schnitzel or two so he has enough energy to beat … well, anyone. I also hope Nole will call the rest of his winning team back, that is the fitter, Gepard and Miljan the masseur. Nikola Pilic thinks the same. About Vajda and the team, not about schnitzels.

Hiring Agassi has proved a stupid idea after all. If you have commitment issue yourself then what is the purpose of hiring a coach who can’t commit. That was a mismatch right there.

Stepanek hasn’t proved authoritative enough to make Nole listen to his coaches which is understandable considering he’s a friend first of all. Serbs say in jest, you need friends so you can ignore advices they give you.

It is still worrying that in last two matches Nole played, in Indian Wells and Miami, he could play well only for less than 10 games as if he didn’t have enough energy for more.

Monte Carlo starts in couple of days, so I see it as another opportunity for Nole to get closer to his old form.

 

[Moxie]

Nice to see you around, Mastoor! I hope Vajda is what Nole needs to get back on track. (Just after the clay season, though. )

 

[Mastoor]

Don't worry, Nole is far away from the ultimate challenge on clay. Right now question is still if he can beat anyone inside top 100.

 

[isabelle]

hope old Marian can help Nole the best way

 

[10isfan]

I’m surprised he forgave Djoke for deserting him. I doubt peak form can be regained unless he gets rid of Pepe.

 

[Mastoor]

Vajda actually always wanted to have some rest from traveling around. I guess he had enough of it and is willing to help Nole.

As for Pepe, he was in the team when they won 4 in a row, so i guess if he wasn't enough distraction then, he may not be that now.

 

[Moxie]

Vajda actually always wanted to have some rest from traveling around. I guess he had enough of it and is willing to help Nole.

As for Pepe, he was in the team when they won 4 in a row, so i guess if he wasn't enough distraction then, he may not be that now.

That's an interesting point that Vajda was looking or a break from the travel. So now he'd be feeling refreshed and ready for the tour again, perhaps. I don't necessarily think that he should feel resentful that Novak made the change, even if it didn't end up being a good idea. These choices are professional, usually, not personal. And I'm also inclined to believe that, after all those years together, Marian would have an affection for Nole, and want to help. Obviously he does, as he's back, at least for the time being.

 

[Mastoor]

^ Vajda was with Nole when Nole was growing up, so he is like a second father to him.

 

[Moxie]

^ Vajda was with Nole when Nole was growing up, so he is like a second father to him.

That's what I thought.

 

[Denis]

Nice words Mastoor. I will be optimistic now too. Great start today in any event.

 

[Mastoor]

Glad to see you Denisovic.

I am too happy with the way things are developing. Still rusty, but Nole is getting there definitely. He moved from the rock bottom he was on in IW?Miami.

Last weak, we read in Serbian media that Vajda will be with Nole for the rest of the season. This week they write it may be for this week only. That is a bit of worry, isn't it? I'd like Vajda to stay with Nole and would like Gepard to be called back into the team because Nole's fitness is not perfect neither.

 

[britbox]

Caught some footage of Novak hitting with Rafa this week.

 

[mrzz]

^They are not hitting with each other... both are practicing, but with other players.

 

[britbox]

^They are not hitting with each other... both are practicing, but with other players.

Good spot. I only watched the first bit with the grainy footage. Nadal's hitting against a single hander though clearly... unless Vajda is making some immediate structural changes to Novak's game!

 

[Moxie]

I've found a couple of interesting things on Djokovic, which have something to do with Vajda coming back, too, so I'll put them here. No negativity is intended, just that we're all so curious as to what goes on.

This from Jon Wertheim's mailbag a week ago, in response to the positive news of his taking Vajda back:

"Before the 2017 Monte Carlo event, a former ATP stalwart told me to keep an eye on Djokovic because “he’s kind of out there right now.” A year later, Djokovic is even further out there. Like, no-paved-roads and no Starbucks and no-cell-signal out there.

It’s not surprising that he returned to Vajda. Why not try to reconstruct what you had during the fat years? We see this all the time, no? From Keith Olbermann reappearing on ESPN, to David Lee Roth rejoining Van Halen, to Phil Jackson returning to the Lakers.

I would dispute your characterization of the Agassi hire. It struck me as an inspired move at the time. And as Djokovic really began to struggle and ponder some existential questions, Agassi seemed like an even better fit. Agassi was literally the one man on the planet best equipped to grasp the challenge confronting a 30-year-old tennis star, a seeker—married and with two children—trying to revive a career, exile doubts, and meet expectations. Now, he has lost the services of that Yoda."

And this from Bodo after the Klizan loss. Forget the sensation title. Especially some interesting quotes from Brad Gilbert, who coached Agassi during his comeback.

 

[monfed]

Exactly what faker needed. Hope he's able to GOAT at RG.

 

[Moxie]

Exactly what faker needed. Hope he's able to GOAT at RG.

I'm not sure what you mean.

 

[monfed]

I'm not sure what you mean.

I mean hope he's able to peak at RG.

 

[mrzz]

I mean hope he's able to peak at RG.

But if he is a faker, that means he will peak his faking act, right? What he would do, simulate a heart attack? I am not sure how that helps against Nadal.

 

[Moxie]

I mean hope he's able to peak at RG.

You mean Djokovic, of course. Because he's the biggest threat to Nadal on clay. I can see why you hope so, but his game is rather in tatters. Do you really think he's going to pull it together by RG, which is a few weeks away? I'm guessing you're just hoping so.