Novak Djokovic’s long-time coach Marian Vajda believes that tennis fans and media are jealous of the World No 1’s ‘perfection’ and don’t want to see him win.
Djokovic is locked in a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most number of men’s singles Grand Slam titles: 20.
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The Serb won the Wimbledon title this Sunday to clinch his 20th major. He has now won the first three majors of the season and is bidding to become the first male player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win a calendar Grand Slam.
“It is very complicated. The media write what they want, perhaps to push an agenda or they want to influence something,” Vajda said during an interview with Tennis Majors.
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“Sometimes, they are one-sided and do not see the complexity of Novak’s personality. He is fantastic, a very nice and a positive person, which brings a lot of good energy to spectators.”
The Djokovic camp has spoken of the media bias towards the ‘Balkan’ for some time now. During Wimbledon, the Serb was asked if he felt the ‘bad guy’ chasing down records set by crowd favourites Federer and Nadal.
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Djokovic also said this summer that he’s used to his opponent always getting the lion share of spectator support, even when he wasn’t playing Federer and Nadal.
“Sometimes, people are in favor of the underdog, because Novak is so dominant and nobody wants to see him winning,” Vajda said.
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“His domination is so big that many people are jealous when seeing such perfection… They do not believe it.
“I feel that Novak is an amazing example for the younger generation of athletes and people in general… My hope is that it has only to do with the sporting side, but I would like to see a more balanced (media) approach when it comes to Novak.
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“Media promotes Nadal and Federer, the younger generation too – nice things are being written about Novak as well. But from my point of view, he deserves more positive coverage, he is a true champion.”
Vajda has been with Djokovic almost ever since he turned professional. Currently, he shares coaching duties with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.
