New season, new member of Novak Djokovic’s team. The Serbian star returns to Australia after last year’s media scandal and does so with a totally unexpected change. As the Serb steps onto the court for his first training session in Adelaide, the Serb’s first event of the season, the 21-time Slam champion is seen accompanied by Claudio Zimaglia, a former physio to Milos Raonic and Jannik Sinner.
There is still no official announcement regarding the changes in Djokovic’s team, apart from the leaked photos and videos. However, some Serbian sources explain how the internal dynamics of the team that follows the former world number one are evolving.
According to Sport Klub, Novak Djokovic would have changed his physiotherapist and would have coincided with Ulises Badio. As reported, it seems that both have not reached an agreement in the new year: their relationship ends after five years of working together.
They started in 2017 and Badio has been one of the key pieces in the Belgrade tennis player’s career, being by his side when he had an elbow or abdominal problem during the 2021 Australian Open. Other sources, also collected by Sport Klub, report that Zimaglia would be Novak Djokovic’s new physiotherapist.
Professor at the Academy of Osteopathy in Turin, Zimaglia has partly followed the careers of Raonic and Sinner; the last tennis player he attended was Brandon Nakashima, champion of the last edition of the Next Gen Atp Finals.
Zimaglia could follow the Serbian champion during the first part of the tennis tour: with Serbia absent from the new United Cup, Adelaide is the first official tournament for the winner of the last Wimbledon, which will be followed, according to the entry list, by the Open of Australia, where they will have to reconquer the title, after having lost the opportunity in the last edition played.
Novak Djokovic is ready
Speaking to the media for the first time since landing in Australia, Novak Djokovic expressed his joy at returning to his «most successful» Grand Slam. “It’s great to be back in Australia.
It is a country where I have had tremendous success in my career, particularly in Melbourne. It is by far my most successful Grand Slam,» Djokovic said while speaking to the media in Adelaide. «Obviously what happened 12 months ago was not easy for me, for my family, for my team, for anyone who is close to me.
It’s obviously disappointing to leave the country like this,» he said. “You can’t forget those events. It’s one of those things that stay with you, I suppose, for the rest of your life. It’s something I’ve never experienced before and hopefully never again,» she added.
