Djokovic says ‘not in need of a coach’ as French Open looms

AFP | Paris

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Novak Djokovic said Tuesday he is in no hurry to find a coach to replace Andy Murray as he searches for his first win on clay this season ahead of the French Open.

Djokovic last week parted company with Murray after a tough start to the season for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

“At the moment, I’m not in need of a coach,” said Djokovic who opened his title bid at the Roland Garros warm-up event in Genova against 134th-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics yesterday.

“I don’t need to rush in any context. I feel comfortable with the people around me ... in the next few tournaments, and we’ll see what happens.”

Djokovic told journalists that Dusan Vemic, previously part of his coaching team had arrived in Geneva from the US, and would be working alongside Boris Bosnjak- o v i c , his assis- tant c o a c h and analyst.

The partnership with Murray started well, with Djokovic defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, only to be forced to retire during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev as a result of injury.

“ W e felt like we couldn’t get more out of that partnership on the court, and that’s all there is to it,” explained Djokovic, who turns 38 on Thursday. “My respect towards Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person.

“I think he has a brilliant tennis IQ, he has a very rare mind of a champion that obviously has achieved what he has achieved, and he sees the game incredibly well.”