"Roger Federer's not doing anything" - Monica Puig jokes Novak Djokovic should hire Swiss as new coach following split with Goran Ivanisevic

2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Monica Puig recently suggested a rather offbeat name to become Novak Djokovic's new coach.

On Wednesday (March 27), the Serb announced his break-up with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic following a string of poor showings this year. The Croat had joined the 24-time Major winner's team in March 2019, before becoming his head coach in 2022.

The two enjoyed a fruitful partnership during this time; not only did Novak Djokovic bag nine Major titles under the former Wimbledon titlist's tutelage, but he also became the oldest player in tennis history to finish a season as the World No. 1 last year.

In that context, Tennis Channel host Steve Weissman invited former players Andy Roddick and Monica Puig to discuss who Novak Djokovic will next employ as his coach. While Roddick came up with usual suspects like Boris Becker and Marian Vadja, both of whom have enjoyed successful tenures with the World No. 1, Puig had an interesting name to throw in the mix — Roger Federer.

"It's a little bit of a shock, but really curious to see what he's gonna do now. I mean, we're even joking about in the green room that Roger's not doing anything, maybe it could be a good collab," Monica Puig said jokingly. "But I think, Djokovic knows what he's doing. He's been doing it long enough to know what he's best for him at this point of his career."

Puig further stated that Djokovic and Ivanisevic perhaps had a falling-out very recently, leading to their split.

"It's not something that I would do, definitely. It's something that I would do more in the off-season, because you have a little bit more time to get to know somebody, see what works, see what doesn't," she added. "Sometimes, the way a coach says something may not sit right with a player, and vice versa."

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"Novak Djokovic can only take opinions from certain amount of people on Earth" - Andy Roddick

The World No. 1 might go back to Boris Becker, who is currently a free agent

Meanwhile, Andy Roddick disapproved of the 24-time Major winner's decision to shake up his team this early into the 2024 season. The American then alluded to the Serb's strong personality, which allowed him to work with very few coaches.

"I was surprised, you know, you don't look to make moves in March or April. This had to be a surprise to both, there had to be something to set this in motion mid-season," Andy Roddick said. "Djokovic has turned over his entire team, his management, now Ivanisevic, I'll be curious to see who he goes to next. It seems that he always ends back up with Vajda when something like this happens."

"That's happened a couple of times. But the one thing is that, Novak can only take opinions from certain amount of people on Earth," he added. "That's why he went with Becker, that's why he went with Goran. People who know those situations. I will be very curious to see what his next steps are."