Alex Molcan reveals his vision of tennis changed after playing Novak Djokovic. Molcan, 25, made the Belgrade final as a qualifier in 2021. In his first ATP final, Molcan clashed against home favorite Djokovic, who won 6-4 6-3.
Last year, Molcan made two ATP finals and also reached a career-high ranking of No 38 in the world. Two years after the Belgrade final, Molcan has established himself as a regular participant of the main-level events. “That match against Djokovic changed my vision of tennis, it was the crucial point of my career.
It showed me the way tennis should be played, it’s not a power game, I learned that during that match. Before I thought I was playing too soft, not close enough to the net, that I had to hit more winners. Djokovic, he plays chess, he uses his brain, you need power but it’s not the most important thing.
I understood from this match that I had to play longer, with more spin, more use of my head. This match changed my tennis, I started to have more confidence in my game, to be more proud of the way I played and to believe that I could beat anyone if I played well,” Molcan told Tennis Majors.
Molcan now works with Djokovic’s ex-coach
In February, Djokovic announced that he and his long-time coach Marian Vajda decided to end their partnership. After splitting with Djokovic, Slovakian coach Vajda accepted to work with Molcan.
Interestingly, Molcan and Djokovic played against each other at the 2022 French Open. Going into the match, many were curious to see how it would look to have Djokovic and Vajda on the opposing sides. Although Molcan certainly received some great tips and advice before going on the court to play Djokovic, it didn’t help him that much since Djokovic again won in three sets.
