With the US Open commencing in New York this week, we feel it is important to recognize one of the Greatest of All-Time (“GOAT”) players- Novak Djokovic. No baselines was inspired by tennis and Djokovic is the perfect role model exhibiting no apparent limits to his abilities and accomplishments. 2021 is a banner year for Djokovic winning three majors to become an all-time leader in Grand Slam victories joining Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (see table).
What is the secret to Djokovic’s phenomenal success? I have watched in amazement endless matches and curated articles to better understand his approach and techniques as a model for no baselines notoriety and to improve my own tennis game. This exceptionalism is best summarized by Alexander Zverev, an admiring opponent in a recent NYTimes article: “Mentally he’s the best player to ever play the game. In the most important moments I would rather play against anybody else but him. You have to be perfect. Most of the time you can’t be perfect. That’s why most of the time people lose to him. You have to win the match yourself. You have to be the one that is dominating the points.”
In David Zarum’s profile article- Defense wins championships (Sports Net), the focus is on Novak’s unique game play: “What makes Djokovic so effective isn’t simply his ability to consistently return shots and sustain rallies, but a knack for turning defense into offense. He’s able to hit winners on the run and off-balance, effectively shrinking the court for his opponents in the process.” The key may be Djokovic’s movement, as Zarum writes, “His ability to cover ground—particularly from side to side on the baseline—allows him to retrieve virtually any ball sent his way. His signature move is the slide splits, a physical gift that’s been attributed to skiing as a child, but is more accurately the result of hard work.” Mardy Fish concludes in the article , “With Novak, there is no safe place to hit the ball and as a result, you feel so much pressure playing him.”
Probably the best reporting on Djokovic’s unparalleled tennis game can be found in two articles in the web. The first is from a 2016 Guardian column What makes Novak Djokovic the perfect tennis player – and so hard to beat? The article is smartly organized and worthwhile read by exploring in detail Novak’s:
Return of serve
Serve
Offensive style
Mental Strength
Fitness and flexibility
The second article is the current New York magazine feature by Giri Nathan’s The GOAT: Novak Djokovic’s unstoppable rise to the top of tennis. This thoughtful profile explores his athletic abilities and why fan popularity does not match/reflect athletic achievement. Nathan offer this analysis:
“Watching Novak Djokovic over these three events, and over the past three years as he tightened his chokehold on all the big trophies, has worn down many of the tennis world’s old defenses, leaving fans in dazed awe of his mental and physical fortitude. A Djokovic hater just might call this Stockholm syndrome; we can all agree that he is at least an acquired taste, better acquired late than never.”
At no baselines, we are a fan of his exceptional abilities irrespective of his perceived personality flaws and lack of mass charisma. Beyond his innate talent, we are especially impressed with Djokovic’s intense/serious focus on the moment which is best illustrated by his preparatory mindset of treating “the next match like it is the last match of my career”.
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