Novak Djokovic's Becker Influence

There has been a lot of talk about Novak Djokovic’s association with Boris Becker since his appointment as coach in December 2013.

At the time of the appointment, fans on tennis forums and social media expressed surprise, many ex tennis players and pundits expressed surprise.  If appears that even Boris Becker was surprised that he was asked and then appointed to the job.  The main focus has been what exactly Becker has brought to the table in terms of improvement.  When I watch interviews involving Novak the focus tends to be on Becker being there, knowing what it is like at key moments in a grand slam final, and can provide positivity to him. Before Boris’ appointment at the end of 2013, Novak lost three grand slam finals, two semifinals and his number 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal in a twelve month period.  However, Becker must provide much more than what they let on in the media and what the press tend to report (we know the Press love to simplify things).  Let us take a look at some of the areas where I feel Novak has improved and where Becker has made a difference.

The Serve

This is one department where you would expect Becker to have an influence; Becker had one of the best serves in his era and is considered one of the best servers in tennis history.  I saw Djokovic play in the 2007 French Open quarterfinal and he had a very good serve then, with good pace and well placed into the corners.  By the 2009 that all changed with Djokovic having issues with his nerves, bouncing the ball upwards of 20 times before delivering a 2nd serve; and former top 10 player Todd Martin persuading him to change his service action.  This led to the accusations we see so often in tennis by impatient fans and media, that Djokovic was a “one slam wonder” who didn’t have what it takes to win another major title.  Djokovic also moved from Wilson to Head and it always takes time to get used to a new racquet. Djokovic dispensed with Todd Martin’s services in 2010 and his career really took off in 2011, winning three majors and attaining the number 1 ranking for the first time.  

Djokovic now has a very reliable serve, not the fastest by any stretch but often well placed into the corners and capable of delivering aces.  The area where I feel Becker has made a big difference is the 2nd serve.  Djokovic was never known for having a 2nd serve of any distinction but there is no question that Djokovic now has one of the best 2nd deliveries in tennis, and perfect for grass.  The statistics in the Wimbledon final showed that against Roger Federer, Djokovic won 60% of his 2nd serve points which is very high indeed for a final.  As well, Djokovic’s average speed on the 2nd serve throughout the match was 96mph and his fastest serve was 111mph.  In fact, many serves were over 100mph on both deuce and ad courts, often moving away from Federer or with slice into the body, deep or close to the line.  Very intelligent serving which makes it very difficult to attack.   This is one of the key reasons why Federer could not get into Djokovic’s serving games like he could against Andy Murray, who averages around 75mph with serves often in the middle of the box, making him vulnerable to attack.  I think Becker should be given credit for persuading Djokovic to go after his 2nd serves more than he did in previous major finals

Transition Game

This is another area where Becker was brought in to help Djokovic improve.  Djokovic was already aware that he was playing too passive in many of the big matches in 2012 and 2013.  During the Wimbledon final against Andy Murray, Djokovic knew he needed to shorten the points but seemed unsure about how to implement that strategy.  There is no doubt in my mind that Becker has helped to improve Djokovic’s transition game considerably.  Djokovic is never going to have the best volley on the tour but he can choose when to hit approach shots and come in, or serve volley at occasional moments.  A perfect example was the French Open semifinal against Murray, when he took over the match in the fifth set by constantly hitting big shots and finishing points off with a smash at the net.  In the Wimbledon semifinal against Gasquet, Djokovic came to net 39 times and won 26 points.  In the final, he came to net 34 times and won 20 points, a conversion rate of just under 60% so not the best rate by any means but Djokovic knew he had to mix things up against Federer. 

Djokovic’s net approaches now seem more assured than during 2012 through 2013, during that period many of his forays smacked of desperation, example serving and volleying on 2nd serves out of the blue during the 2013 Wimbledon final.  However, Becker is clearly using his experience of the transition game and providing guidance to Novak of the best moments to attack the net.  Djokovic has superior athleticism so theoretically he should be very good around the net.  In modern tennis where most of the game is played behind the baseline, the number 1 player still has to possess a very good transition game; otherwise he will not be able to stay in the position of number 1 position for very long.

Mental Game

This is an area which has really gone up a notch in the last 12 to 18 months.  Djokovic dominates the ATP tour like no other player since Roger Federer in the mid-2000s.  At the moment there are two tours, one with Djokovic in which he gets to choose where and when he wants to play, and a tour for all of the other players who have to play in smaller events to accrue points and confidence.  Djokovic is able to only play the Masters and grand slam tournaments plus Dubai and Beijing.  This is unprecedented in the history of the ATP tour but is possible due to the current points system. A perfect case in point; Djokovic didn’t play any warm up tournaments, and still won Wimbledon fairly comfortably, only challenged in the fourth round when he was two sets down to Kevin Anderson. 

On the tour itself, Novak has won virtually every tournament he has entered or at least made the final, incredible consistency on all surfaces.  He hasn’t lost an indoor match since November 2012.  To me a player’s indoor record really marks how good a player they really are.  Incidentally, Boris Becker is considered among the best indoor players in history along with Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, Djokovic has joined that club.  It is very difficult to be that consistent all year round, so again credit has to be given to Boris Becker for channelling Novak’s consistency in the right areas, finishing matches as quickly as possible, whilst keeping points fairly short on a number of occasions. Let us remember, Djokovic has been considered a grinder, some of his matches against Nadal and Andy Murray have been north of five hours long.  There is no way he could get to 30 years of age and stay at the top playing that kind of game.  Djokovic plays a much smarter game now which allows him to stay ahead of the pack.  As a player Becker enjoyed the baseline duels against Wilander, Lendl, Chang and Sampras, but he was also the master of the short points, putting his serve in the right areas and then taking control, Novak is now much better at these tactics than he was two years ago.

One area which intrigued me before the Wimbledon final was whether Djokovic would have served first if he won the toss. Djokovic backs himself as the best player in the world; I would say he would have served first given the opportunity, learning from Murray’s poor decision in the semifinal.

 

Conclusion

The most important lesson about analysing Djokovic’s improvement under Boris Becker is this:  the players who have kept working on improving their game both tactically and mentally have improved and kept winning.  The players who have stagnated have not challenged consistently.  My previous article on Stan Warwinka and now Novak Djokovic shows that these two players along with Roger Federer have consistently looked for ways to improve their game.  It is good to see.