Novak Djokovic has officially announced who he will work with at Roland Garros during a press conference at the 2025 Geneva Open.
Last week, it was announced that Djokovic and Andy Murray had parted ways. They began their player/coach relationship at the 2025 Australian Open and seemed to be building a good rapport.
Although Djokovic endured a disappointing start to the clay-court swing, failing to win a match in Monte-Carlo or Madrid, the split was still surprising since Murray had been expected to stay until at least Wimbledon.
Appointing a permanent coach so quickly was never likely, especially with Djokovic trying to get his preparations right for the 2025 French Open. The former ATP world No. 1 has elected to work with someone he knows well.
Djokovic will collaborate with Dusan Vemic in Geneva and at Roland Garros. The Serbian coach was on his compatriot's team before, including for some of his triumphs at Grand Slams.
Vemic coached Djokovic alongside Marian Vajda from the 2011 US Open until the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. During that period, the tennis legend won two Australian Opens and the 2011 US Open crown.
He briefly returned to coach Djokovic at the 2016 Miami Open, where he won the title. Vemic's other roles include being on the coaching staff of the Serbian Davis Cup team and coaching Brandon Nakashima from 2020 until 2022.
When appointing a temporary coach, players often gravitate to someone they are familiar with. Djokovic's move to work with someone he has won with in the past makes sense.
This year's Miami Open finalist has proven he can be successful without a permanent coach. The most obvious example was him winning the Olympic gold medal that had eluded him, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the deciding match.
At the same time, that is Djokovic's only triumph since March 2024, when he split from Goran Ivanisevic after almost five years together. His overall results have indisputably gotten worse since the 2024 season.
It would be foolish to write off Djokovic. He is the most statistically successful player ever, and has proven his doubters wrong several times. There is every chance of him doing that again at this year's French Open.
Djokovic showed how high his best level remains in the Australian Open quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz. He recovered from losing the first set to defeat the Spaniard with an astounding level on the Rod Laver Arena.
Not writing Djokovic off does not mean questions about whether he can keep competing with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are invalid. The Serbian turns 38 on Thursday, and has spoken about playing being harder on his body than it used to be.
Alcaraz and Sinner demonstrated why they have dominated men's tennis since the start of 2024 by playing the 2025 Italian Open final, which Alcaraz won. The young duo has won the last five Grand Slams.
Overcoming those two and winning a Grand Slam this season at the age of 38 would be one of the most outstanding achievements of Djokovic's career.
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