Novak Djokovic looks for the forehand
Novak Djokovic serve differently than others on the second serve - and with success.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 05, 2019, 10:10 am
The return may well be the one with which Novak Djokovic will go down in the history of tennis. So far, Andre Agassi has been the man with the best setback, and when it comes to the aggressive return, the direct point, he may still be. But when it comes to bringing back the first serve with stability and length and putting the rally directly back to "zero", Djokovic is probably not enough for the water.
What often goes down in all this: The 16-fold Major Champ has also improved his serve enormously in recent years - and trusts in the second service, especially on a somewhat unusual tactic. Because Djokovic then served mostly on the forehand of the opponent. This is what ATP data guru Craig O'Shannessy found out for the ATP. The basis is the Masters 1000 Tournaments and the 2019 ATP Finals.
The Australian, who also works in Djokovic's advisory team, explains that Djokovic is one of the ten best second hitters who most often make the second serve on the opposing forehand side. O'Shannessy divides the respective impact field into three subfields: entry side to the outside (ie to the forehand), to the body, to the side.
While 48.2 percent of the players favor the T (ie the middle and thus the backhand), Djokovic serves 45.1 percent to the outside (gaining 58.7 percent of the points). Where he was even slightly more successful in the trials in the middle with 61.3 percent and on the body with 61 percent points won. A glimpse of the next player in Djokovic's tactics shows how crass the difference is with others: That's Daniil Medevev with "only" 35.7 percent of second serve on the forehand.
Djokovic obviously hopes for irritation
On the advantage side Djokovic looks for the forehand on the second serve even more often: Here he served to 47.6 percent to T. (His top 10 serve colleague only to 22.9 percent.) With 65 percent points won Djokovic is here too Much better in the race - the colleagues at the corresponding premium "only" a winning rate of 61.3 percent, although they can even rely on the surprise effect.
O'Shannessy's guess for the Djokovic tactics: Most players would expect a blow on the backhand - and are surprised by Djokovic. The result: too late a response and a faulty return.