In the history of tennis, there was hardly the more efficient player & coach combo than Novak Djokovic and Marian Vajda. The young Serb had started to work with the Slovak in the spring of 2006 and they have stayed together for all those years except for a small period in 2017 and 2018 when Novak dismissed the entire team due to that elbow injury.
With Vajda in his box, Djokovic claimed all 17 Major titles, embracing one of the greatest journeys that our sport has ever seen and hoping for more success in the years to come.
Besides their usual relationship on the court and constant improvements they have made over the years, alone or with other coaches, Novak and Marian have become great friends, considering each other as a family member and building the chemistry that has driven Djokovic towards the tennis throne.
Speaking for sport.sk, Vajda revealed how he met Novak at Roland Garros 2006, traveling to Paris with his daughter and getting a chance to watch the young Serb who reached the quarter-final at Majors for the first time.
Two weeks later, Vajda traveled with Djokovic to s-Hertogenbosch and the history was written there, working together for the first time before conquering every notable tournament in the next decade and a half.
“Before Roland Garros 2006, I was asked by one agency if I was interested in seeing Novak in Paris. I didn’t know much about him, to be honest, as he was ranked 63rd at that moment. I didn’t want to work with anyone at that time because I had enough travel, although I made a spontaneous decision and changed my mind.
I wanted to show Paris for the first time to my youngest daughter Natalia who was only eleven at that time, and I also went to see Djokovic. He reached the quarter-final at Roland Garros and I was traveling to his next tournament in s-Hertogenbosch as his coach,” Vajda said.
