MELBOURNE, Australia — The most stressful part of the Slovak coach Marian Vajda's Monday might have come in the day's early hours, when the men's star he coaches, Novak Djokovic, was locked in a fifth-set battle with Stanislas Wawrinka at Rod Laver Arena. That match ended at 1:41 a.m. Monday morning, with Djokovic prevailing, 12-10, in the final set.
A more nerve-racking moment in Vajda's day was still ahead. At 11 a.m., a second-round junior girls' singles match began on Court 19, pitting Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, the 10th seed, against Natalia Vajdova of Slovakia, Vajda's 17-year-old daughter.
"For sure, daughter," Vajda blurted out with a laugh when asked which player he was more nervous watching. "It's tough to handle the emotions there. But I have a lot of experience from Novak, so I can handle it somehow."
Vajdova, playing in the singles draw of a junior Grand Slam event for the first time, lost, 7-6 (6), 6-0. But she battled even as the second set slipped away, winning 23 points despite failing to take a game.
Vajda, 47, was a successful professional player, winning two A.T.P. singles titles and peaking at No. 34 in 1987. But his biggest successes have come as a coach; he has worked with Djokovic since 2006. Djokovic has won five Grand Slam titles in that time and spent most of the last 18 months as the top-ranked player in the world.
While it might seem Vajdova did not have much choice about whether to play tennis, she insisted the decision was hers.
"It was my father's choice, of course, but I also wanted it," she said. "They gave me opportunities that I can swim, or ski, but I didn't want it. I was just like: 'Tennis, tennis! Racket, racket! Balls!' So I was so happy to play tennis. I started when I was 4, and I just wanted to play tennis. Nothing else."
Vajdova said her goals for the year were to play all four junior Grand Slam events and to gain a W.T.A. ranking (she needs to earn points at one more tournament to reach the minimum of three for a ranking). She said her main goal was to be a professional player, a desire only heightened by spending time as a junior player among the pros in Melbourne.
"I want to be professional, like all these girls," she said. "What I can see here now, it's so good. I practiced also with a few good players, and it's good experience to see them here."
Because of his heavy travel schedule with Djokovic, Vajda is not Vajdova's primary coach. Those duties have fallen to a 21-year-old Slovak Filip Havaj.
"He is traveling a lot and he is not as much at home," Vajdova said of her father. "So he is helping me when he has time."
Vajda said he was happy he and his daughter were at the same tournament because he was able to watch her matches and give her advice afterward.
"I am really enjoying the matches," he said of his daughter's play in Melbourne. "I try to give her some advice, besides her coach. It's helpful for her, and it can make her change faster, if maybe I give her more valuable information, or tips, or whatever it is, whatever advice. So I'm happy."
Having hit before with Djokovic, it was another player whom Vajdova was more excited to meet in Melbourne.
"I met Roger," she said with a big smile, referring to Roger Federer. "And he said hello."
"Of course, Novak is my favorite," she quickly added.
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