Djokovic - it Becker's belief

Not the most elegant of puns as a thread title, but it's passable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/25429597

Lendl worked for Murray. Connors didn't for Roddick or Masha. What will Becker bring to Team Djoko?

19 seconds of Slam glory?

hopefully less boris on bbc commentary

TopoftheChops wrote:hopefully less boris on bbc commentary

+1

I find this bizzare

Lendl is a perfect fit as a coach as his attention to detail is immense, i.e. like when he was a player

Becker has always been more of a fun loving all round entertainer. This is illustrated by his woeful insight when doing commentaries - he has no real deep knowledge of the current game

After all this is the person who left the US Open final of last year, to attend a poker tournament  

I think it's a good appointment. I don't think Novak's game needs much work at all, but what could be questioned is his mental approach in recent big finals.

Becker goes on about mental approach and mental advantages like no other. It covers 80% of what he says. I assume that's what he's been brought in for and if it turns Novak into the mental giant he was in 2011 then it'll be a good move.

Would add an interesting side note to any future Murray v Djokovic big matches. Lendl v Becker as coaches would have the media salivating.

Surprised me at first but as I thought about it there might be something in Djokovic persisting with shortening points, also even though Lendl had a winning record over Becker, in slams the German has the edge, I do wonder if that's a psychological battle with Murray from Djokovic? Clearly Lendls help in slams finals has helped Murray but Lendl himself struggled against Becker in the big matches. Could be a counter appointment of some sort?

I'm stunned by this.

Whether it's successful I think depends on what Becker is there for. The kind of "joint head coach" arrangement did not work at all when he tried it with Todd Martin and I don't think it will work now. Someone has to be the top man.

If, however, Becker is there in an advisory capacity as a multi-slam winner who has been there and done it on the big stage, then this could be a good appointment. Similar to what Andy gets from Lendl.

1 win in 5 slam finals had to be addressed. I'm glad Novak is doing something different.

He'd also be a great person to have on hand as Novak continues to work on his net game!

The thing that excites me is that if this can boost Novak by even a couple of percent, it could produce something quite sensational.

Vajda's statement:

“In a few weeks Novak and I will start the eight year of our cooperation. During that period we have achieved almost all the goals we had. I realized that Novak nedeed a new head coach in order for him to continue improving certain parts of the game. In the same time, I will have more time for my family. Becker’s assignment will not affect much my position in the team, since I will do all I can for Novak, just like I did before. On the other hand, choosing Boris as a head coach is a good solution, I am sure we will get along very well, and that Novak will continue to progress"

Becker will travel with Djokovic to Australia, Dubai, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, the U.S. Open, Shanghai, Paris and London.

Vajda will be there for Indian Wells, Madrid, Toronto and Beijing.

I wonder if part of this came from Vajda? He has a young family I believe and may not want to be on the road so much?

Hmmm. it does seem that Vajda has been sidelined to an extent, which frankly I don't like as I think he is a great tennis mind and he and Novak have a great relationship with each other. Becker, has never really delved into coaching before so I don't know really how this will work out. Maybe it is about just giving Novak that little bit of belief and mental toughness that has been lacking since 2011. Novak has lost too many matches in big finals that he has been in a winning position. He seems to grip at the last second at the finish line, and he seems frustrated even when things sometimes are going well.

PS, don't change his serve, we saw how that worked out with Martin, his serve is fine, I don't think he needs major technical overhaul because right now he is a fine tuned ball striking machine and needs to just keep everything humming.

At the end of the day Djokovic will have sanctioned this - he feels he needs new input and Becker had the out & out aggressive style he clearly wants to learn from. Vajda probably realised he had nothing else left to imbue too..."more time with family" always sounds like a dignified exit route to me.

A good move in my book. Boris will have the cojones to tell Novak where he can improve on the mental side and show him how to shorten points more - something Novak clearly realises he needs to do as time ticks on...

Boris won't be much help at the French though

lydian wrote:Boris won't be much help at the French though

Haha. Boris has a lot to learn

I think they indeed make strange bedfellows however it should be very interesting to see what Boris can contribute.
Boris was (like him or hate him) a very entertaining player especially when he was very young. I personally liked his style of play. Enthusiastic, energetic if not always effective.  Perhaps he will show Novak how to throw himself around the court which was Boris´s trademark.
Though on clay it could be a bit messy. 

The way Novak finished the season I don't there's too much wrong with his game. Also I thought his main ambition was to win the French Open, can Becker really help with this?

Didn't Novak have a similar set up with Todd Martin that didn't work out too well?

erictheblueuk wrote:The way Novak finished the season I don't there's too much wrong with his game. Also I thought his main ambition was to win the French Open, can Becker really help with this?

Didn't Novak have a similar set up with Todd Martin that didn't work out too well?

Yes because he tinkered with the serve which is really high risk, I hope that is not why he brought becker along because his serve is pretty good to me, both the first and second delivery.

I was certainly surprised by Djokovic appointing Becker as his new "head coach". Was it Djokovic who gave Becker the title of "head coach"? If so he wasn't being very tactful about his previous "head coach". But anyway the story was surprising and it has certainly caught the attention of the press. I wonder if getting people to talk about him had something to do with the reasoning? This speculation is from the telegraph.

Djokovic is hugely ambitious. He sees his 2013 season, in which he won the Australian Open and reached two other grand slam finals, as a disappointment. He is desperate to add to his six majors, and to complete his career set by winning at Roland Garros. And he is also frustrated by the way fans continue to dote on Federer and Nadal, while he himself is treated with admiration rather than adoration.
......

While Vajda is a charming and insightful character, he is also a former world No 34, and thus hardly a magnet for the cameras. The presence of Becker in Djokovic’s player’s box will hugely raise the profile of the whole camp, and is likely to fascinate the viewing public.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/novakdjokovic/10525266/Novak-Djokovics-appointment-of-Boris-Becker-is-bid-to-improve-mental-fortitude-in-quest-for-more-titles.html

It's well known that Djokovic desires the holy grail but it's difficult to see how Becker can help him with that. As far as his game goes IMO he doesn't really need much help but he is desperate for a little more attention. That is perhaps something Becker can help him with. And if it all goes wrong it will still all be good. I'm not sure that linking up with Becker will make people adore him though...

Here's Simon Reed http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/simon-reed/becker-coaching-djokovic-just-doesn-t-add-either-151458138.html

I'd be surprised an disappointed if this were to do with grabbing media attention. Djokovic loves the limelight but does he crave it enough to tinker with something as serious as his head coach? I don't see it. Djokovic had his faults but he takes his career seriously and is not reckless with it.

I really think some of this may have come from Vajda. He's had a lot of years on the road with Novak and may simply be burning out from that. Also his daughter has a fledgling career in tennis, and he may want to available for her more.

Becker made an appearance on stage at one of Novak's events for his foundation. Perhaps they got chatting there and Novak was impressed with some advice Boris offered him?

I don't think the "Boris never won RG" argument is a valid one. Vajda got nowhere near any slams as a player and Novak has done pretty well with him! Lendl never won Wimbledon but he helped Andy win there. With a coach it's all about getting a player to be the best he can be.

I really don't know what to expect from the Becker/Djoko partnership... But I can't wait to find out!

He has appointed Becker because he believes his performances and results will improve with Becker on board. To suggest he changed his coaching structure to be more liked is frankly ridiculous, and almost insulting to the professionalism of the man.

Recently he has buckled mentally in some finals. Becker is well known for being a student if the mental aspects of the game. Also Novak has been keen to improve his game at the net, which he's achieved, and Becker will only help with this, especially when it comes to choosing your moments to come in (something he didn't do well in the Wimbledon final).

That's it for me. He's been appointed to help his game and results. The idea that he's there to help his popularity is frankly laughable.

Danny_1982 wrote:He has appointed Becker because he believes his performances and results will improve with Becker on board. To suggest he changed his coaching structure to be more liked is frankly ridiculous, and almost insulting to the professionalism of the man.

Recently he has buckled mentally in some finals. Becker is well known for being a student if the mental aspects of the game. Also Novak has been keen to improve his game at the net, which he's achieved, and Becker will only help with this, especially when it comes to choosing your moments to come in (something he didn't do well in the Wimbledon final).

That's it for me. He's been appointed to help his game and results. The idea that he's there to help his popularity is frankly laughable.

For the most part I agree with what you say Danny  Boris was well known for his net play just as he was for the mental aspect of his game.  However, unless you were a follower of Becker as I was from the time he won Wimbledon at 17 yrs old you may not realise that he was indeed a very popular player. He was young keen and enthusiastic and a great entertainer on the court. He was popular, very much so, he appealed to all ages. Dont judge him on either his private life or that of a commentator of the game.. there I would agree he leaves much to criticism.   Speaking for myself though.. I like the bloke

I'm not doubting Boris was very popular Haddie. I'm doubting - to put it lightly - that a potential increase to Novak's popularity had anything to do with Novak's decision to appoint him.

That's what I find ridiculous. A world class player appointing someone as it may help with media exposure? It's nonsense.

Well on one thing I will agree.. Not being a Novak fan myself.. (nothing whatsoever to do with his tennis ability I might add before I get jumped on) I think it would take more than Boris to make him popular in any event .. whether that be the reason or no.
As they say either you got it or you aint   

If you look at the very best coaches today who were once tour players, the vast majority of them were not among the best players even in their own generation: Paul Anacone, Brad Gilbert, Larry Stefanki, Darren Cahill, Jose Higueras, even the late Tim Gullickson. Of these, none of them ever won a Major in Singles. But they do have that ability to teach - a far different skill than the ability to "do". That's what was surprising in that Djokovic chose someone as his head coach that has virtually no track record as a coach. The very best players who have turned to coaching have mixed results as a group, to say the least.

Tony Roche was a top level tour player who was a great coach. Connors - did he really do all that much for Roddick? Seemed Roddick had his best tennis early on from Gilbert and at the end from Stefanki. As for the Lendl-Murray axis, is it really Lendl? On the one hand, he did help Murray get into the best physical shape of his life. But on the other hand, Murray's two grandest triumph's could just as easily be viewed as a result of circumstances than anything Lendl gave him - in fact you could argue that Murray's two greatest wins came courtesy of Juan Martin Del Potro. The 2012 Olympic Gold Medal Match saw Murray face off on grass against Federer, who he'd just lost the Wimby Final to only a month before. But Federer was dragged through hell in the SF by Del Potro, gutting out a 19-17 3rd Set win that took 4 hours and basically busted whatever stamina he had left in his tender back. Wimbledon 2013, Murray managed to get to the Final without having to play anyone ranked inside the Top 20 in the world in the first six rounds- how often does that happen at a Major? And even then he had to struggle, down 2 Sets against Verdasco and Janowicz gave him some issues in the SF. But thanks to Del Potro grinding down Djokovic in their SF, Murray was able to get past an exhausted Djokovic in the Final. So in truth, how much of the Murray success can be attributed to whatever Lendl had to offer? It's open to conjecture. History seems to suggest that the very best coaches were not the very best players, and the very best players don't necessarily make the very best coaches.

Finally some words from Djoko on Becker's appointment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk98CJUuncs

Seeing Djokovic's appalling volley that lost him the match against Wawrinka, I think Nole could benefit from some basic coaching on how to volley from Becker....