How Novak Djokovic Aced the Serve

ENLARGE

Novak Djokovic’s serve used to be much less productive and reliable. Photo: Associated Press

Paris

Since Novak Djokovic started to dominate tennis in 2011, his gluten-free diet, fanatical fitness regimen and love of meditation have been the talk of the sport. But let’s not overlook the obvious: Djokovic is No. 1 because he’s exceptional at everything—even the serve, a shot that used to drive him mad.

In the last few years, as Djokovic has banished baguettes and pizza from his dinner plate, he has transformed a ho-hum serve with suspect technique into one of the most accurate and deadly shots in the game. Once unreliable and stiff, it’s now smooth and efficient. It’s consistent and difficult for returners to read, too.

Djokovic leads the tour in second-serve points won in the last 52 weeks (59% before the start of the French Open), just ahead of Roger Federer and John Isner, the 6-foot-10 American who belts devastating aces from an almost unfair height above the net. Djokovic has won 89% of his service games in that period. Only five players on the tour—Isner, Federer, Ivo Karlovic (who is 6-foot-11), Milos Raonic (6-foot-5) and Kevin Anderson (6-foot-8)—have a higher percentage. Djokovic is 6-foot-2.

“He’s never going to be Isner or Karlovic or Raonic, and he understands that,” said Paul Annacone, the former coach of Federer and Pete Sampras, whose serve might be the sport’s best ever. “He’s comfortable now being what I would call a strategic server: Hitting all the spots, less speed, more variation.”

Djokovic’s fourth-round match at the French Open was washed out on Monday, when all play was canceled because of rain for the first time since 2000. Djokovic, the winner of 11 career Grand Slam singles titles, has won every major tournament except the French Open. If he has to play on consecutive days because of the weather, his revamped serve could help him shorten matches and save energy for the final.

Djokovic’s serve used to be much less productive and reliable. In 2010, it was a mess. For a long stretch of that season, Djokovic had more double faults than aces, a dreadful statistic for a top pro. He finished the year with 304 aces and 282 double faults in 907 service games. Djokovic won 82% of his service games that year, a respectable percentage, but seven percentage points lower than 2015. He hasn’t hit more than 147 double faults in a season since 2010.

Djokovic’s serve clicked in 2011 and has only gotten better since the end of 2013, when he began working with Boris Becker, the former No. 1 player whose booming serve helped him win three Wimbledon titles. He’s also asked for tips from Karlovic, a longtime friend.

“He’s always asking me about the mental aspect of it, what do I think before this and that situation,” Karlovic said. Karlovic wouldn’t elaborate. “I just don’t want to tell it to everybody,” he said.

Tennis Australia’s Game Insight Group, which studies tennis data, found a huge improvement in the accuracy of Djokovic’s serve. The group compiled data from 50 of Djokovic’s matches at the Australian Open, from 2008 to 2016 (Djokovic won six of those titles). While reducing the average speed of his first and second serves by one mile an hour over those years, Djokovic learned to hit better spots. From 2008 to 2010, 13% of the first serves he put in play landed within 6 inches of the rear service line or the lines on the sides of the service box, which means those serves were either particularly deep, farther to the left or right of the returner, or both. From 2011 to 2013, that percentage increased to 16%. From 2014 to 2016, Djokovic hit 17% of his first serves within 6 inches of a line. Djokovic’s second serve has improved too. From 2014 to 2016, 5% of the second serves he put in play landed within 6 inches of a line, compared with 3% from 2008 to 2010.

Machar Reid, a biomechanics expert at Tennis Australia, reviewed several clips of Djokovic’s serve from 2010, his worst serving season, and from more recent matches. There’s a noticeable difference. Old Djokovic used to bring his racket up more slowly as he tossed the ball with his left hand. Federer, like Sampras, brings his serving arm up to a traditional tennis trophy position, with his right elbow bent at around 90 degrees. Djokovic’s racket used to lag, with his elbow much less bent. Reid compared it to a cricket bowl.

“The arm stayed extended for too long,” Reid wrote in an email. “He wasn’t able to get what he needed out of his shoulder.” Watch Djokovic today and his serve looks a lot more like Federer’s.

Djokovic isn’t always happy with his improved serve. In the second round at the French Open, he won in straight sets against Steve Darcis, but lost his serve two times and hit four double faults.

“Hopefully that’s not going to happen in the following rounds,” Djokovic said.

But even when he does lose his serve, Djokovic is better off than other players, because he’s the best serve returner in tennis. Djokovic broke Darcis five times in the match.

“Because Novak breaks one in three return games, even if he loses his serve it’s not a big deal,” Annacone said. “That helps a lot.”