#SmashTalk: What’s happening with Novak?

It’s been a busy week in the world of tennis. Maria lost the grudge match, Garbine was booed by her home crowd and Novak, well, he fired everyone. What does the tennismash team of Vivienne Christie, Paul Moore, Matt Trollope and Leigh Rogers make of it all? This is #SmashTalk.

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Will Maria Sharapova get back to the top?

Vivienne Christie: Let’s be realistic about this. It’s almost half a decade since Maria was world No.1 and her total reign in that position is just 21 weeks – impressive by most standards but meagre when you consider the hype. So ’top’, in a literal sense, is unlikely. That said, the fierce competitor will almost certainly be top 10 again, most likely even top five. It’s the ‘when’ that’s the bigger question …

Paul Moore: Only by virtue of a lack of quality competition. Maria 2.0 seems to have developed a mental fragility that we’re not used to seeing. Yes, she’s lacking match practice. But a player of Maria’s quality should not be losing to an out of form Bouchard, and the tennis world expects more from her than that. That said, she is too good not to be a force given the current crop of active players. However, I doubt she will blaze the trail that some expect, and may well find herself eclipsed by Azarenka on her return.

Matt Trollope: Definitely. It’s just a matter of when. I’m inclined to believe that the intense scrutiny surrounding her comeback – plus the fact every player she faces is extra-motivated against her and she faces a “grudge match” each week – is impacting her more than she lets on. Even someone as mentally tough and focused as Maria would struggle with that. But once the novelty value of her comeback subsides and she gets into the weekly grind of the tour with less fanfare, she’ll come good – she’s too good a player not to be at the very top.

Leigh Rogers: It really depends on what we are defining as the top, as there is a big difference between possibly returning to the top 20 or No.1. Her comeback hasn’t been disastrous and she has proved she can still be a top player with wins over some good opponents – but this week’s loss to Genie Bouchard suggests she still has a long way to go. At the same time, the emotional energy of that match and the past month would no doubt have been draining, so I think we need to allow Maria some more time to resettle into life on tour before making any judgements on her form.

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Muguruza was jeered off court after her first round exit in Madrid. Do you think it’s acceptable for tennis crowds to boo?

VC: Booing in our genteel sport? How un-tennis! Actually, I don’t condone jeering on any arena but I sympathise with that frustrated crowd. The top Spanish female, current No.4 and reigning French Open champion crumbles in straight sets to 28th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky – and it’s not even a one-off but a pattern. Enough with the excuses. In this case, Muguruza needed the lesson in toughening up.

PM: Why should fans respect the players when players disrespect the fans by not giving 100% when they’re on the court? It’s their job, and they get paid (by those fans) handsomely to do so. Of course, everyone has a bad day at the office. But French Open champion Muguruza (world No.4) was blown away by the world No.28 on her favoured surface in front of her home crowd and in just over an hour. There was no fight, there was no passion. Boo louder I say.

MT: It depends on the performance they put in. Tanking? Ranting? Abusing officials? Then prepare for the crowd’s disapproval to rain down from the stands. However, it’s pretty harsh that the Spanish fans would turn on one of their own, simply for a lacklustre performance. I’m not sure Muguruza could be accused of tanking, so perhaps a more sympathetic response was in order.

LR: No and it should not be encouraged. It is simply disrespectful. I can understand that fans get invested in players so it is only natural to feel disappointment when they lose, but that does not give them the right to treat them badly. If we say booing is allowed, are we also saying it is okay for social media users to abuse players on such platforms too? It is definitely not okay.

RELATED: Agassi or Sampras to coach Djokovic?

Novak stunned the tennis world when he fired his coaching team. What did you make of that and who should he team up with?

VC: My reaction ranged from shock to sympathy and at last, acceptance – and I’m just a distant onlooker, so imagine how Novak and his discarded team must feel. But this is a far more considered move than it might initially seem. Djokovic is savvy enough to know when it’s time for a fresh voice. I’d love that to be Andre Agassi, who experienced that same tortured quest for perfection. More realistic, in the short term, is that Novak experiences a complete coaching break.

PM: It feels like we’re watching a slow motion car crash. Novak’s problems don’t stem from long-time coach Marijan Vaida, they stem from Novak. His off-court wobbles are clearly affecting his on-court performance, and only he can sort those out. As for who should he team up with? Maybe nobody for a while. It might do the Serb good to have some time alone to figure through his issues, rather than having a team around him that he can blame for his travails.

MT: Firing a coach is one thing. Firing an entire entourage is unprecedented, at least in my living memory. It looks on the surface like a desperate, panicky move but when you dig deeper, the “shock therapy” approach that Djokovic has taken could just be what snaps him out of his bizarre slump. When you’ve achieved everything you set out to, fresh voices and perspective could help Djokovic find a different form of motivation. As for who he works with next? I’d love to see him team with Sampras. A new – and unlikely – super-coach in the mix would be a great story.

LR: It is surprising – but not shocking. Novak’s form slump is now bordering on 10 months and you can understand him wanting to make drastic changes. I believe Lleyton Hewitt would be the perfect fit to help reignite his competitive fire. The former world No.1 is known for his intense work ethic and because he hasn’t been out of the game long, would be fit enough to train alongside the Serbian and push him on court in a way that an older mentor/coach couldn’t.