"Novak Djokovic said, 'I'm going to be World No. 1'" - Serb's ex-coach Marian Vajda takes pride in his protege's 'incredible' tennis journey
Novak Djokovic's former coach Marian Vajda recently talked about the Serb's 'incredible' tennis journey. Vajda was the 24-time Grand Slam champion's coach from 2006 to 2017 and then again from 2018 to 2022.
Djokovic is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Among his numerous achievements, he has won a staggering 24 Grand Slam singles titles and held the World No. 1 ranking for a record total of 428 weeks. Djokovic also secured a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and claimed his first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
The Serb last competed at the 2024 Shanghai Masters where he reached the final before falling to Jannik Sinner, who won his fourth ATP Masters 1000 singles title and his seventh title of the season.
During a recent interview with Radio Television of Serbia, Marian Vajda reminisced about his early days coaching Novak Djokovic. Vajda recalled meeting a young and very confident Djokovic who expressed his ambition to become the World No. 1 player.
“Of course, all this is much more than a number. I look at my cooperation with Novak as a process. Of course, when I met him, he was very young and had nothing but confidence. He told me: ‘Maran, I’m going to be tennis number one,’” Vajda said [as quoted by Tennis365].
Vajda stated that while coaching the former World No. 1, he saw him progressing, training for the better, and developing so he could become the World No. 1 and win tournaments and Grand Slam titles.
“When we started working, I thought it couldn’t get any better. He is the best player who could have deserved it, and it was just amazing. As a coach, I saw how he was progressing, how he was training better, how he was developing, but for him the goal was to be tennis number one and win all those tournaments, Grand Slam titles,” he added.
Marian Vajda expressed that it has been "incredible" to see Djokovic flourish in his career and become the best tennis player in history.
“It’s been an incredible journey, but when I look back on it now and see all those numbers, it really is an incredible achievement. I could never have imagined that he would win so many titles and tournaments and be the best in the history of tennis,” Marian Vajda said.
“Don’t think Novak Djokovic’s done winning” - Serb's former coach Marian Vajda
![The Serb at Six Kings Slam 2024 [Source: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/1b86c-17315237796710-1920.jpg?w=500)
Earlier this year, Novak Djokovic's former coach, Marian Vajda talked about the Serb's strategic approach to selecting tournaments throughout this calendar year. Vajda expressed in a conversation with Ubitennis that this decision was wise as the ATP calendar is "too intense."
“I think Novak is trying to adapt and find the right balance. He can’t imagine playing all the tournaments like he used to. The ATP calendar is too intense,” Vajda said.
Vajda also stated that the 24-time Grand Slam champion is currently the most experienced player on the tour with no other player coming close to him.
The Slovak also expressed that Djokovic is far from finished in terms of winning titles:
“None of the new top players have his experience, simply because of his age. So I don’t think he’s done winning and he’s going to prove it once again.”
Djokovic's best performances this year include reaching the finals at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and the Shanghai Masters as well as securing the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.