As Novak Djokovic pursues his 25th Grand Slam title, the all-time great is teasing what would certainly be a legendary addition to his team.
After parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic late last season, Djokovic briefly worked with two-time Olympic gold medalist Sir Andy Murray at the start of this year.
Following the Djokovic-Murray split in May, the Serbian star has once again started, albeit infrequently, working with Dusan Vemic, who was part of Djokovic’s team from 2011-2013, and then again in 2016.
Despite that, Vemic isn’t with Djokovic at this year’s US Open, raising questions about the former world No. 1’s long-term plans for a coach.
While speaking with Serbian outlet SportKlub, Djokovic was asked about the situation:
“I’m laughing because it’s as if you read my mind, but I can’t tell you anything. I was shaking things up a bit, talking, we’ll see, you’ll be informed.
“We’ll see, these are some initial talks, it’s more of an emotional aspect than a long-term collaboration. It would mean a lot to me. I think you know who it is, but come on, I’m not going to say names now, so as not to do it too soon. If it even comes to that… We’ve had some interesting talks.”
His cryptic response has the tennis community overwhelmingly confident that the new addition to his team could be Monica Seles, a player Djokovic has looked up to since childhood.
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Throughout his career, Djokovic has continued to credit his first coach, Jelena Gencic, whom he calls his tennis mother, with laying the foundation for his career.
After trying Seles’ record for 33 straight wins at the Australian Open last year, Djokovic spoke about what it means to share the record with someone he admires so much:
“It makes it even more special for me because I really love Monica. I have had Monica in my head when I was growing up in Serbia pretty much every single day, because Jelena Gencic, my tennis mother, as I like to call her, she passed away in 2012, worked with Monica when she was young.
“So I was hearing a lot about Monica, Monica this, Monica that, Monica eats this, Monica sleeps this much, Monica practices this way. So Monica was definitely one of my childhood idols and heroes, and I looked up to her very much.”
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At the time, Seles shared a heartfelt message via Instagram, congratulating the all-time great on tying her record:
“With Novak’s Grand Slam title wins I stopped counting a long time ago as I knew he would be breaking all the records and setting some ridiculous ones for future generations to try to break. I just wish that we played in the same era as it would of been so cool to play mixed doubles together. For me it would be a Masterclass.
“Thank you Novak with gratitude and appreciation and let’s go win AO”
Djokovic’s admiration for Seles, has left many fans convinced Seles is the coach Djokovic and his team are in talks with.
Why Isn’t Dusan Vemic At the US Open With Djokovic?
While a potential Novak Djokovic-Monica Seles partnership would certainly be a historic player-coach pairing, the absence of Dusan Vemic has caught the attention of fans ahead of the US Open.
While speaking in the aforementioned interview with SportKlub, Djokovic explained why Vemic, who was with him at Roland Garros this year, wasn’t in Flushing Meadows:
“Dule is not with me now, maybe he will be at some tournaments in the future. I say again, we don’t have a contract or a long-term agreement – it’s more sporadic; if it suits both of us, we work. Only Boris (Bosnjakovic) is with me.”
Bosnjakovic has notably been part of Djokovic’s team for several years now.
With first-round action right around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see whether the all-time great can capture an elusive 25th Slam.
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