"I want him to win Wimbledon, I think he has a good draw"- Marian Vajda on Novak Djokovic

Marian Vajda with Novak Djokovic at the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters.
Marian Vajda with Novak Djokovic at the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters.

According to Slovak professional tennis coach and former player Marian Vajda, Novak Djokovic should be able to win the 2022 Wimbledon Championships considering his prowess on grass courts. He also believes that Djokovic has a favorable draw and that he appears to be getting better with each match.

Vajda is one of the most successful coaches in the sport, having coached Djokovic to his 20 Grand Slam titles, along with a host of other remarkable achievements. The pair ended their 15-year partnership after the 2017 ATP Finals.

During a recent interview with Tennis Majors, Vajda spoke about his relationship with Djokovic and also elaborated on the Serb's chances of winning the 2022 grass Major.

"I always support him [Novak Djokovic] and I want him to win Wimbledon," Vajda said. "I just saw a little bit of his first round match because we had practice at a similar time. Overall, he is fine, this is the best surface for him. I think he has a good draw. Maybe his performance in the first round was not that great, but he improves his tennis as matches go by."

With victories over Soonwoo Kwoon and Thanasi Kokkinakis, Djokovic is off to a strong start at Wimbledon. The six-time champion displayed some incredible tennis in his second round encounter with Kokkinakis, dominating from the start and frequently breaking the Australian to win the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.


"It is strange to be in the opposing box; I felt so bad, Novak Djokovic also felt very bad" - Marian Vajda

Novak Djokovic with coaches Marian Vajda and Goran Ivanisevic at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships
Novak Djokovic with coaches Marian Vajda and Goran Ivanisevic at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships

Marian Vajda then recounted the occasion when he was watching the match between Novak Djokovic and his recent mentee Alex Molcan from the opposite box at the 2022 French Open, where the Serb eventually went on to win 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(4).

According to Vajda, even though it ached to be in the opposing box, they both still maintain a good relationship both on and off the court.

"It is strange, obviously." Vajda said. "First of all, it was very strange in Paris, to be in the opposing box. It was a terrible feeling, I have to be honest. I felt so bad, Novak [Djokovic] also felt very bad. We stay in touch, communicate and send messages to each other. Our relationship is still very good."
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Going into his 2022 French Open quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal, Djokovic was the favorite to win. However, after a hard-fought contest, it was Nadal who emerged as the winner.

Vajda believes that Djokovic was predicted to win, but Nadal played some of his best tennis on that particular day and Djokovic was unable to keep up.

"I thought that he would do well in Paris, the game was there, but that match against Rafa was tough. Rafa displayed his best tennis, and Novak did not have the answer. Maybe he was a bit surprised at the beginning, when he lost important and long games," said Vajda.
"I think Rafa found the gap in Novak’s forehand, he had a lot of winners to that side. Maybe Novak thought that Nadal would go more to his backhand, but Rafa played risky and went down the line with his forehand a lot, and it paid off. It could have gone out as well," he added.

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