'Something had to change' says former coach while advising Novak Djokovic to bring Boris Becker back

Novak Djokovic has been advised by former Yugoslavia Davis Cup captain Radmilo Armenulic to bring Boris Becker back into his coaching team after the Serbian announced his decision to part ways with his entire coaching team on Friday (5 May).

The world number two has been struggling for form since he won the French Open last year and it has further dipped in 2017. Djokovic has failed to progress past the quarter-finals stage of any tournament this season since his win at the Doha Open in January, which includes a second round exit at the Australian Open.

The 29-year-old is preparing to return to action at the Madrid Masters on Sunday (7 May) but will be without his entire backroom team after he confirmed that he had agreed to mutually end his working relationship with longtime coach Marian Vajda as well as fitness trainer Gebhard Phil-Gritsch and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic.

The former Yugoslavian tennis coach revealed that he expected Djokovic to make changes owing to his inability to recapture the form that saw him dominate men's tennis in the last few years. Armenulic is keen for the Serb to rekindle his partnership with Becker, under whom he won six Grand Slam titles during their three-year spell together – December 2013 to December 2016.

"I expected this move because Djokovic's results in the past few months have been well below par for the world's former number one," Radmilo Armenulic said, as quoted by Eurosport.

"Something had to change because this team had become his family of sorts and I think Djokovic has made the right decision.

"He will now have to put together a heavyweight coaching staff headed by the likes of Boris Becker, Pete Sampras or some other former top player. In my opinion, bringing Becker back would be the best course of action as he played the best tennis of his life after the German had joined his team," the former Yugoslavian Davis Cup captain explained.

Armenulic also suggested that Djokovic needs to change his style of play to suit his physical attributes and avoid long rallies and keep the points short. The 77-year-old believes Becker's style of coaching will help the Serb change his game

"He is not getting any quicker and therefore needs to switch from long rallies to shorter points. That, in turn, means he has to go for more net points and baseline winners, which requires the kind of coaching he had under Becker," he added.

"I am sure it was his decision to let his coaching staff go but it's also likely he also consulted someone because sometimes things are better seen from a distance."