Why Novak Djokovic is the perfect tennis machine
As I travel the world representing the IMG Academy Bollettieri Tennis Program, I am often asked who, in my opinion, is the best player ever in the history of tennis. I will not answer this question here but I will go on the line to describe who I believe is the most perfect tennis machine, similar to the F-18 navy fighter jet.
Let me start out by saying there is never anything that is absolutely perfect. However, as I go back in time (60 years) and think about all of the players I’ve had the privilege of watching, I believe Novak Djokovic’s overall game, including the mental and physical parts, may be as perfect as I’ve seen. I will explain why.
Forehand: His grip is a perfect semi-western, and not an extreme western, which gives him the option to execute: Drives (flat forehand), Spin (topspin), Angles, Swinging volleys.
His swing pattern is very compact, with excellent balance throughout the entire swing, including loading up on the back leg and then shifting his weight forward. He utilises his nonhitting hand to balance his body and also as a pointing hand to the target area.
His grip is made up of a strong eastern forehand for the top hand and a weak eastern (some would say continental) for the bottom hand. His bottom hand steadies the racket, enabling his upper hand (the left) to do all of the work for the following shots: Drive, Cross-courts and down-the-lines with depth and spin, Fantastic disguised lobs, Angle spin shots, Deceptively good slices, Touch
Novak has some of the very best drop shots and touch shots from both his forehand and backhand sides. He can also hit slices from both his forehand and backhand sides.
Novak’s serve is very effective. While he has good power, he also executes all variations of the serve. He can deliver wellplaced slices to both boxes, kick-serves wide to the ad side, and can hit very offensive first serves. His service motion has excellent timing and balance plus a full use of his lower body. He lets the racket head accelerate with the serving arm fully extended.
Novak can hit from all stances, including the open, semiopen, neutral, and even the closed stances. No matter what stance he hits from on his groundstrokes, at the same time he hits the ball he starts his recovery movement. By doing this he can reach the next ball a split second quicker and most of the time can control play, and even put his opponent into a defensive position, from a defensive position.
Novak’s anticipation is so good it makes you wonder if he has a sixth sense about where his opponent is directing the ball. He also has excellent vision. His eyes pick up the ball the split fraction of a second it leaves the opponent’s racket, like Andre Agassi. Only a few athletes in any sport can react and anticipate the way Novak is able to. His ability to know where the ball will be hit and ability to react so quickly is a gift from the Man Above.
Yes, I fully understand coaches tell their students if you hit the ball here, expect the ball to be returned there. Players like Novak, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, however, seem to have abilities that a coach cannot teach, when it comes to anticipation and split-second reaction to the ball.
For several years players, coaches, and fans thought Novak didn’t train sufficiently because he got tired so quickly and would react by trying to slow down play and attempting lowpercentage shots to end points quickly. How it happened I do not know, but after evaluation by medical experts he discovered he had a problem with gluten, which was causing him to have physical limitations while competing in physically demanding matches. A change then took place with his diet and he experienced much greater stamina and strength as a result. THE INDEPENDENT