World number two Novak Djokovic is aiming for a fruitful Wimbledon 2014 campaign with his coach, tennis legend Boris Becker. Though the Serbian tennis superstar lacked matchplay on grasscourts in the past few weeks, he is confident that he can still perform well with Becker, a prolific player on grasscourts, who will assist him with tactics.
The 2011 champion took a two week break following a disappointing final loss at the Roland Garros to Rafael Nadal.
“[I had] some good results and some injuries and so forth. It took a lot out of me,” Djokovic said. “So it was always important for me to take five, six days off to recharge and try to get my mind off the tennis.”
Djokovic was seen attending his own bachelor party ahead of his pending nuptials to fiancee Jelena Ristic. He’s now in Wimbledon and was seen practicing hard for the third Grand Slam event of the season.
“[Moving] from the slowest to the fastest surface, it takes quite a few days and weeks to adjust one’s movement. On clay you can slide but here you can’t afford too many big steps. You have to try to have as many of the adjustment steps and be balanced. The ball bounces low, where on the clay it bounces very high.”
Becker is a three-time Wimbledon champion (1985, 1986 and 1989) and was a runner-up four times as well which makes him one of the most accomplished grasscourt players.
“I do feel different having Boris on my side, having a player who made a mark in this sport, especially in this tournament.
“This is [Becker’s] surface. This is his home. This is where he feels most comfortable,“ said Djokovic. I think here where he had most success in his career, we can have a great two weeks together.
“He’s very inspired to convey his messages and advice to me, and to try and point out the objectives and priorities on which I should focus during the time of the Grand Slam,” he added.
Djokovic begins his Wimbledon campaign against Andrey Golubev. By virtue of having better grasscourt record in the past two years, Djokovic was awarded the top seeding at this event followed by world number one Rafael Nadal as number two seed.
