Novak Djokovic Gets New Coach Ahead Of Monte Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic turned to a familiar face as he looked to get back to winning ways following his recent split with Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek, going into the clay court swing of the 2018 season.

The Serbian reunited with former coach Marian Vajda ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters, but it is not confirmed whether their association will be long-term, with the statement on the player’s website stating they will go "one step at a time."

Djokovic ended his decade long association with Vajda in the early part of the 2017 season before hiring Agassi prior to the start of last year’s French Open. It was a shock at first, as the former played a key role in taking the Serb to 12 men’s singles Grand Slam titles.

The 30-year-old, who has been struggling for form since his win at the French Open in 2016, admitted then that he needed change and a fresh perspective to get back to winning ways. Djokovic chose Agassi to help him rediscover his form, as the American had suffered a similar slump during his career.

Djokovic held all four major titles until June 2016 having won at Roland Garros for the first time to make it a career Grand Slam. However, since the 2016 U.S. Open final he has failed to get past the quarter-finals in his next three major campaigns at the French Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

Stepanek was added to the coaching team at the end of last year, but both failed to have a major impact on the Serbian’s game. Djokovic missed a large part of the last eight months due to injury, and was not able to chalk up many wins since his return — he lost in the second round at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters.

Djokovic made the decision to part ways with both coaches and reunited with former coach Vajda ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters, which begins on April 14. It is unclear if the former Slovakian tennis player will travel with the 12-time Grand Slam champion for the rest of the campaign, but he is expected to be in his box when Djokovic takes the court in Monte Carlo next week.

"Marian came to help Novak,” a statement released by Djokovic’s management team said, as quoted by the Express. "At the moment, there is no concrete agreement on further co-operation, nor is the length of their joint work discussed. It will go one step at a time.”

Serbia based journalist Sasa Ozmo confirmed Vajda’s return to the court with Djokovic after he shared a video of the Serbian star training at the Pepe Imaz Academy in Marbella, Spain.

“Nothing official yet. Yet to see if this is just temporary or Novak is on his way to reunite with Vajda. Personally, I am leaning towards the latter,” he wrote on his official Twitter account alongside the video.