Marian Vajda, former coach of Novak Djokovic, now working with Alex Molcan

Vajda ended his longtime partnership with the world No. 1 at the end of 2021, a decision the coach speculates was rooted in Djokovic’s desire to streamline his team.

ByKamakshi Tandon

Published May 05, 2022

MATCH POINT: N. Djokovic def. A. Molcan; Belgrade Final

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WATCH: Djokovic defeated Molcan in their only previous meeting at Belgrade 2 in 2021, before the No. 1 went on to win Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic's former coach Marian Vajda has confirmed he will be back on tour coaching fellow Slovakian Alex Molcan.

The pair is training together this week in Bratislava, and will start their first event next week at the Rome Masters.

"I have had a lot of offers, but I wanted to help a Slovakian player," said Vajda during a press conference this week, according to Tennis Majors.

Djokovic and Vajda stopped working together following the 2021 ATP Finals, but the move was not officially announced until this season. Vajda had coached Djokovic for almost his entire pro career, more recently sharing the position with Goran Ivanisevic, who is now Djokovic's lead coach.

"Novak and me are still friends. I told Goran that we will practice together in Paris," said Vajda, adding that he had mentioned his decision to coach Molcan. "I did not tell Novak but I did tell Goran, so I am sure Novak knows."

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Djokovic has reacted positively to Vadja's announcement of the coaching move on social media. "Good luck to both of you...except when you play against me," he said jokingly.

Vajda also expanded on Djokovic's coaching decision, pointing to the 34-year-old's reduced playing schedule. Djokovic had played just three events this season coming into this week's Madrid Masters—due to coronavirus vaccination requirements, he did not compete in the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami, and has also spoken of concentrating more on Grand Slams from this point in his career.

"I don’t know for sure, because I never asked him, but I assume from my analysis of his tournament schedule, that he wanted to reduce his team, and he chose Goran Ivanisevic," he said. "We have been together for a really long time and his decisions showed that he wanted to focus on Grand Slam tournaments—that is why he might think that it is not ideal to have so many people in his team."

Molcan is No. 47 in the rankings. Another former ATP player, Karol Beck, will also stay on as his coach.

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