Novak Djokovic can be his own worst enemy, says Paul Annacone
Novak Djokovic is on the verge of breaking several major tennis records - including most weeks at No. 1, most year-ending No. 1 finishes, most Grand Slams won. The Serb has looked unstoppable for most of 2020, where he has faced a mere three defeats - out of which one was a disqualification.
But despite this air of invincibility around him, Novak Djokovic has also seemingly tarnished his image a little this year. From the Adria Tour and the floating of the rebel player association (PTPA), to the US Open fiasco and the recent alleged Vienna Open tanking, Djokovic has earned almost as many brickbats as bouquets in 2020.
Roger Federer’s former coach Paul Annacone is not a fan of Novak Djokovic's off-court behavior either. During a recent conversation on Tennis Channel, the American explained how Djokovic had done himself no favors with his recent shenanigans.
When Brett Haber - the host of the show - questioned if Novak Djokovic was his own worst enemy, Paul Annacone replied in the affirmative.
“Look I think we all can (be our own worst memory)! But yes to be quite frank (he can),” Annacone said.
The 57-year-old then cited the example of Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour to reinforce his point. Although he admitted that the Serb organized the event with good intentions, he also claimed that the move was ‘ill-advised’.
“He was following all protocols of his country,” Annacone continued. “I did a lot of the reading as it was going on. It was a lot different than what we were hearing about. He was following the lead of the government, it was well-intentioned but ill-advised.”
Moving on to the US Open disqualification, Annacone opined that the incident was a case of ‘bad luck’. However, he immediately added that at the end of the day Novak Djokovic was the guilty party since everyone is responsible for their own actions.
"You go to New York, that was just bad luck," Annacone said. "But unfortunately as players we are responsible for what happens, good or bad. It's up to you, was totally not intentional but happened and that’s totally his fault."
Novak Djokovic should stay away from PTPA: Paul Annacone
The American also gave his two cents on the PTPA, looking at the issue from a couple of different perspectives.
Putting himself in the shoes of Novak Djokovic's coach, Annacone suggested that the Serb getting tied up in the PTPA controversy would only take his attention away from the records that he's on the verge of accomplishing.
“I’ll look at it two ways,” Annacone said. “Pretending I’ll be his coach I would be like ‘Stay away from that, that’s the last thing you want to get involved with' because he has so much to look forward to in terms of what he’s trying to accomplish.”
Paul Annacone then viewed the matter from the lens of a former player and member of the council. In that context, the American believes that the Novak Djokovic-led association came about at the wrong time, and that too without an adequate framework.
“And then looking at it as a former member of the tour, member of the player council,” Annacone continued. “I was on the board for 6 years. I know all the complexities of it, it is a very difficult environment. But to do it then and start it at this juncture is a mistake. And the way they did it. They came out with the whole thing without giving a blueprint of how it was gonna work. They kind just threw it out there and everyone was like 'what are we gonna do?’ It didn’t really have a lot of stages or information included.”