Marian Vajda: 'Novak Djokovic wants more Majors than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal'

Novak Djokovic and his coach Marian Vajda will join forces in December, starting the pre-season preparations ahead of 2021. The Slovak coach said they have only one goal in 2021, to reduce the deficit to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the GOAT race. After 2020, Federer and Nadal are tied on 20 Majors, with Djokovic standing on 17 following wasted chances at the US Open and Roland Garros, something he is eager to fix in the upcoming years. The 2020 season saw three Major tournaments and three different champions. The GOAT race between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic remains the tennis world's main topic, with three titles separating the great rivals. Djokovic was the favorite to close the gap to Federer and Nadal after the 17th Major trophy claimed at the Australian Open, only to experience a default at the US Open and lose the Roland Garros title match to Nadal.

Since 2011, Novak has been the dominant figure in men's tennis, securing six year-end no. 1 honors and winning the most Majors, Masters 1000 and the ATP Finals crowns. The Belgrade native has secured 16 Major shields since the Australian Open 2011, moving closer to Federer and Nadal and ensuring his place among the greatest players of all time. The Serb was off to a flying start in 2020, winning 18 matches at the ATP Cup, the Australian Open and Dubai before the coronavirus outbreak. In Melbourne, Djokovic battled past Dominic Thiem from two sets to one down in the title match, claiming the eighth trophy down under and moving closer to his great opponents. Unable to extend his streak in Indian Wells and Miami due to the pandemic, Novak had spent the next six months in Belgrade and Marbella, working hard on his game and continuing where he left after the season's restart.

Novak Djokovic is eager to win more Majors than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The Serb won the 35th Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati (played in New York), heading to the US Open as the clear favorite. Instead of chasing the trophy, Novak made a mistake and got defaulted for the first time in a career against Pablo Carreno Busta, returning to Europe and securing the record-breaking 36th Masters 1000 trophy in Rome. Seeking the second Roland Garros crown, Djokovic lost the title match to Rafael Nadal in straight sets, taking only two games in sets one and two and handing the 20th Major crown to the Spaniard. In Vienna, Novak secured the sixth year-end no. 1 season, moving in front of Federer and Nadal and hoping for more of the same in the season ahead of us.

"In 2021, Novak wants to focus mainly on Major tournaments and get closer to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are three ahead of him. His vision for the future is to break that record," Marian Vajda said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3lcKgYb