An Analysis Of The Best Tennis Player In The World - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, one of the best tennis players of all time, hails from Serbia. He is currently 35 years old and is ranked 5th on the ATP Pepperstone ranking. The 21-time Grand Slam champion and former world no. 1 turned pro in 2003 and is still looking to win more matches and dominate the tennis scene. Here, I will give you a breakdown of everything you need to know about Novak Djokovic's play style. 

Racket Set-Up

Starting with the racket that he uses. Novak Djokovic is sponsored by Head and endorses the Head Speed Pro. However, it is no secret that a lot of tennis players do not use the rackets that they endorse but use their own customised rackets with the same paint job as the racket they endorse. 

Here are the specifications of the racket that Novak uses: 

Paint Job: Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro 

Frame: Pro Stock, PT113B

Strung Weight: 353g 

Head Size: 95 sq. in.

Swingweight: 360g 

Balance: 324mm (5pts HL)

Dampener: Yes 

String pattern : 18 x 19 

Length: 27.1 inches 

This current racket is customised to better aid his game and form, and also to help cope with the elbow issues he had that required surgery back in 2018. 

The changes included dropping his racket weight from 359g to 353g, reducing his swing weight from 370g to 360g, lengthening the racket length by 0.1 inches and lastly switching from a 18x20 string pattern to a 18x19 string pattern. 

Even with a reduced static and swing weight, the racket still provides Novak with the stability and control he needs. The slightly lengthened racket provides more speed on serve and with a less dense string pattern he is now able to put more spin onto his shots, giving himself more time to recover and sending off trickier shots for his opponents to deal with. 

Novak uses a hybrid string setup with the Babolat Touch VS Natural Gut 17/1.25 on the mains at 59 lbs and the Luxilon Alu Power Rough 16L/1.25 on the cross at 56 lbs. 

The natural gut on the mains offers a great feel and feedback during the shots while the stiff poly on the crosses offers more spin potential and allows Novak to hit with great consistency.

Forehand 

Novak Djokovic plays right-handed and uses semi-western grip for his forehand (his index knuckle on bevel 4). He previously used the in-between of the semi-western and the western grip which some refer to as the ¾ western grip. Over the years, it seems that he has stuck to the semi-western grip. 

Djokovic contacts the ball with his right arm almost extended.

Here is a breakdown of his forehand: 

1. He grips his racket loosely and has his left hand supporting the throat of the racket as he starts his unit turn. 

2. As he turns he releases his left hand only when both of his hands are above his shoulder height, unlike Nadal and Federer who releases below the shoulder. 

3. He drops the racket only when he has completed the unit turn. He puts a great emphasis on the shoulder and hip rotation, as a full unit turn act as a coil that allows him to generate more power and faster racket head speed. 

4. As he pulls his racket back, the racket's face points towards the ground as he is using the semi-western grip. 

5. Then, he starts the swing by rotating his wrist so that his racket faces vertically towards the back of the court. 

6. As he swings through the forehand, he makes sure to stay relaxed and keeps his elbow a distance away from his body. 

7. He will fully uncoil his body, allowing his shoulders and hips to fully rotate, ending square with his body facing towards the net at the end of his follow-through. He makes sure to focus on the ball as he hits it and often contacts the ball early to take it from below the ball and brushes it up for topspin. 

8. As he completes the forehand swing, he will transfer the weight from his right leg to his left and push forward. 

His forehand has evolved over the years. He used to have a more western grip which meant that he would hit the ball closer to his body and had to be prepared earlier to “slap” the ball with a lot of pace. However, his previous style of forehand was costly and was not the most efficient for his game. 

He now has a more fluid motion on his forehand and he fully utilises the unit turn and power generated from his legs as he hits his forehand. His forehand can still be relatively flat compared to the other top 10 players, but he is able to hit with heavy topspin when needed to give himself more time to recover for the next shot. 

He prefers to take the ball early to be more aggressive and to dominate his opponent. 

Backhand

Novak Djokovic uses the double-handed backhand, which is considered to be one of the best if not the best on tour ever since the start of his professional career. Even after many years and winning multiple slams, his backhand remains his biggest weapon.

He uses the eastern grip on his top hand and the continental grip on his bottom hand when he hits the backhand. 

His left arm remains extended even after contact.

Here is a breakdown of his backhand: 

1. After the split step, he does a full unit turn as he changes his grip on the racket. He will then be in a neutral or closed stance to pivot on his front foot while he pulls his racket back. 

2. At the backswing, he has his right arm fully extended and relaxed.

3. As he starts to swing towards the ball, he pivots on his front leg to generate power from it and guides his racket forward with his straight arm simultaneously. 

4. He then accelerates the racket forward with his bent arm to create the racket flip motion before contacting the ball. The entire uncoiling motion allows maximum acceleration and power as he launches at the ball.

5. He contacts the ball early when both of his hands are fully extended with his torso facing about 45° towards the net. 

6. His left arm remains extended, even after contact, demonstrating how much power he relies on it to generate.

7. He will finish off the swing with the follow-through and has his left leg out to keep his balance and recover quickly.

He has mastered the double-handed backhand technique from the early preparation, the full unit turn, and impeccable timing when contacting the ball. He has everything perfectly set and is consistent for every backhand shot he takes on the court. 

Another thing Novak does incredibly well is how stable he is while hitting a backhand and how fast he recovers after the shot. 

Serve

Novak Djokovic's serve has improved a lot over the years and he has been serving better than ever before. Djokovic has the height, power and flexibility to hit big and effective serves, but somehow was unable to do so earlier in his career. In 2011 he made adjustments to his technique and racket, which immediately made a difference and he started to dominate the tennis scene. 

He uses the continental grip for most of his serves except for the kick serve where he uses the eastern backhand grip for more spin.

Djokovic’s new serve is more fluid and puts less pressure on his arm.

Here is the breakdown of his service motion: 

1. Starting at the baseline, he will position his left foot about 45° towards the baseline and right almost parallel to it. 

2. Novak has his weight on his back foot and his front pointing up when tossing the ball. The toss varies depending on the type of serve he is going to make. 

3. As he tosses the ball he will start the wind-up motion, taking his racket in a circular loop. He coils both his shoulders and hips, relaxing his legs and starts to push down on the ground like a spring. 

4. Then, he brings his racket into the trophy position where the racket head lies slightly above his shoulder. At this point, his right shoulder should be aligned with his tossing shoulder and arm. 

5. He then starts to uncoil his body from the hips to launch at the ball, his feet pushing off the ground while his knees extend and propel him towards the ball in the air.

6. As the racket approaches the ball he will extend his arm and pronate his wrist. His arm will be fully extended at the point of contact. The point of contact of the ball also varies depending on the type of serve he is going to make.

7. When hitting flat and slice serves, his follow-through is across his body. When hitting kick serves, he tends to follow-through just in front of his body.

8. After the serve, he would land inside the court with his chest almost parallel to the ground. He lands on the court with his left leg and quickly gets back into the ready position.

The service motion you see from Djokovic now is more fluid and has more consistent speed and power than before as he now uncoils from his hips, not his arms or shoulders. He also worked on the alignment of his shoulder at the trophy position which made his full service motion more consistent overall. 

Djokovic also opted for a slightly longer racket as Agassi suggested, and the increased length helped him gain more speed and power while serving. 

His serve is better than ever, with much consistency, speed and accuracy. He serves on an average of 188 km/h on his first serve and an average of 146 km/h for his second serve. 

Overall Play Style 

Novak Djokovic is an incredibly well-balanced tennis player, he is able to attack aggressively and has an iron-clad defense. He has a complete game, a great forehand, a masterclass backhand, a very effective serve, quick reflexes and footwork. 

Earlier on in his career he played a more defensive game and was mostly a counter-puncher. Over the years, his game has transformed into a more well-rounded one. He now plays as an aggressive baseliner who is not afraid to approach the net when opportunities arise. 

He consistently hits the ball deep into his opponent's court and defends incredibly well due to his ability to anticipate, his speed, and his sheer flexibility. 

Having spent many years on tour and at an age of 36, you would come to expect him to perhaps show some signs of slowing down . But that's far from the truth. He is still just as fit and ready to take on any opponent he meets. He has managed to defy age and stay at the top of his game for many years now - a testament to his dedication, hard work and discipline over the years.

Novak Djokovic may have solidified his status as the best tennis player of all time as he claimed his 24th Grand Slam Title at the 2023 US Open. Although he may not be the fan’s favourite amongst the Big 3, he is statistically the best player the sport has ever seen.

Many wonder how he is able to maintain his level of the game over the last two decades and I think it all boils down to these 4 key points: 

1. His mental game. He was never the most well-liked player on tour, but he was never bothered by it. He dares to express himself on the court and shows his emotions without overdoing it. He was always able to find his rhythm in a match even if his opponent was playing well and celebrating.

2. Ability to adapt and change his game. As he developed his game over the years, he has trained himself well enough to be able to play as an all-rounder without any obvious weaknesses. He is able to think fast on his feet and adopt different tactics against his opponents. 

3. How he manages his body and physicality. Djokovic is meticulous about managing his body and he watches what he consumes on a day-to-day basis. He is in better shape than many of the other players of a similar age. Despite having some physical troubles over the years, he was still able to bounce back quickly without taking long breaks. 

4. His priorities when it comes to tennis. He has always been candid about his goals, his desire to win, and his hunger to be on top of the sport. He loves setting one record after another and as he gets older he sees winning the Grand Slams as his most important goal. He is willing to work and try to win them for as long as he can. 

Novak Djokovic is a great champion of the sport but was never really the people’s champion. There were some controversies over his career and moments when the public just could not handle him. He handled those moments well and is past them. 

There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and I feel that the public perceives Djokovic more as the latter than the former. Perhaps, he is just being himself and is very confident in his game. 

Looking back at his career, I’m just so in awe that he is able to maintain the level of tennis he is playing. It is so baffling to see a player still playing his best tennis at 36 years of age. 

Djokovic has had his moments in the sport but I believe that there are more to come as he is not nearly done yet. We truly wonder how far the Djoker can go?

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