I had doubts whether 'nervous' Novak Djokovic could win Roland Garros: Marian Vajda

Novak Djokovic had a career-long dream of winning Roland Garros, but his coach Marian Vajda wasn't always sure his ward could do it. In the second part of his interaction with David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Matt Roberts on the Tennis Podcast, Vajda spoke about how Novak Djokovic was beset with nerves before finally conquering the final frontier at Roland Garros 2016.

The Slovak said that Novak Djokovic exhibited admirable mental strength and focus to return from a disappointing defeat to Stan Wawrinka in the 2015 final to finally lay his hands on the Roland Garros trophy.

"To come back and win the title only showed how much mentally strong and focused he was to win the French Open," Vajda said.

NEW POD! Roland Garros Re-Lived 2015/16: When Stan became the Man and Novak completed the SlamFeaturing an interview with Marian Vajda.Listen – https://t.co/3y5pfa6KoWDownload – https://t.co/Ca9sQkcZEaiTunes – https://t.co/FWIfaBRYUOSpotify – https://t.co/TJqpx0UPaI pic.twitter.com/sG4jxzst2e

— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) June 6, 2020

By beating Andy Murray in the final, Novak Djokovic became just the fifth player in the Open Era to win the Career Grand Slam, and the first since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Majors simultaneously. In this regard, Marian Vajda acknowledged that Roland Garros is the toughest tournament of all - as his ward learned the hard way.

"Roland Garros is the most difficult and toughest tournament to win. You need to play seven best-of-five set matches on clay."

Asked if he had any doubt that Novak Djokovic would win Roland Garros in his fourth final at the tournament, Vajda said that he did - especially since Andy Murray was playing the best tennis on clay that year.

"Andy Murray played the best tennis on clay that year. I always hoped that Novak would win Paris, but I had some doubts. Novak had a big aim to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year. Of course in 2015-16 he won four in a row."

Novak Djokovic felt in the second set that he could win the match: Vajda

Novak Djokovic poses with his 2016 Roland Garros trophy.

Going into the final, Vajda admitted that Novak Djokovic was a bundle of nerves.

"He was really really nervous. He was all over the place. There was incredible tension."

When asked what he felt after Novak Djokovic dropped the opening set in the final, Vajda said that he still had hope as claycourt matches tend to be long - with plenty of chances to regain momentum.

"I had hope that the match could change because it was long. Luckily he was able to change the course of the match."

Vajda further that once Novak Djokovic started showing greater patience in the second set, he started believing in his chances of winning. The fact that he knew he had greater stamina than Murray also played a key role in helping him get back into the match.

"Novak started to impart more spin on the ball. He was more patient and had great stamina. In the second set, he felt he could win (the match)."

Dropping just seven games after losing the opener, Novak Djokovic emerged victorious in four sets to bury the ghosts of past Roland Garros finals.

Fourth time's the charm 🙌. World No.1 Djokovic captures his maiden #RolandGarros crown, d. Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4. pic.twitter.com/orzwQrErQ0

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2016

Vajda finally spoke about how the team celebrated Novak Djokovic's long-awaited win.

"There were celebrations that night in Paris. We went out and celebrated as a team together. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed the evening. It will stay in the memory forever, as Novak accomplished something big."