Djokovic transitioning to more offensive?

S

spinovic

Hall of Fame
Is it just me or does Djokovic seem to be trying to play more aggressively and offensively in 2014?

I can't site any stats, which is why I pose the question. But, it seems to me he is. His serve seems bigger, it seems like he is coming forward more, it seems like he gets broken less. Conversely, he doesn't seem to get into his opponent's service games and break as often as he did in the past, but rather seems content to pick his spots more carefully in that regard. If he gets an early break he is comfortable riding his serve the rest of the way. Also, the addition of Becker would support more aggression.

If I am correct, is this simply the direction he feels is necessary to take his game up another level or is it an attempt to lengthen his career by avoiding the grinding style of the past? Or a bit of both?

Or, am I totally wrong and my eyes deceive me?

What do you see (Nole fans particularly)?
 
Djokovic2011

Djokovic2011

Bionic Poster
I think you've been watching a completely different player! To me Djokovic's serve has regressed, his ground game is nowhere near as aggressive as it used to be, his focus and mental strength seem to have gone downhill and even his ROS seems to have lost some of its sting. It's funny but if Nadal or Federer[especially Fed in his prime] break serve at the very beginning of the set I'm confident that they'll continue holding their serve to the end of the set/match whereas with Djokovic I just don't feel the same. Even when he broke Nadal at the start of the 5th set during last year's FO SF I just knew he wouldn't be able to maintain it. It's something he really needs to work on otherwise it will continue to cost him big matches in the future like it has already. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it needs to be an Isner type serve, I just want to see a few more mph on it if possible. But apart from all that I think he's doing great! :wink:
 
L

ledwix

Hall of Fame
I think he was most aggressive in 2011. When you at highlights of back then, he had an enormous amount of confidence and was blasting winners from anywhere. Then look at this year. He has very few backhand winners down the line and hasn't dictated with that side nearly as much. There have been a few good defensive stab backhands, but nothing resembling "the King," "Djesus," or whatever you want to call his peak.
 
FedererDropShot

FedererDropShot

Hall of Fame
I think he is trying to become more offensive as well (but it seems like he's trying to be aggressive mainly on the forehand.. his backhand has taken a step backwards on the other hand).

Tbh, I think Becker needs to help Novak gain a balance between defence and offence.

He needs to regain his aggression on the return (something close to 2011 at least) and continue to improve his aggression on serve like he has tried to do recently.

If he can hold serve easier and maintain his strong return game, I think he will be near unstoppable. He's a very solid player in every aspect now (yes, even his volleys and overheads are getting better) - just needs to be clutch in certain moments.

Tbh, I think he's someone that no one wants to bet against. He's THAT solid of a player.
 
winstonlim8

winstonlim8

Professional
I like Nole and I truly hope that he manages to incorporate a more aggressive all court aspect into his game without losing the elements that have brought him so many Slams already.

I also believe that he's got to change some of his original game to cope with Fed and Nadal who have made changes to their game for various reasons. Nadal, in particular, has been constantly adding new dimensions to his game since the time he won his first FO with little more than a forehand and an indomitable dingdongpingpong will to get every ball back.
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
He's coming to the net a lot more, yes. But he isn't playing more aggressively than before. I remember he used to hit the ball harder and would try to paint the lines more often. You see this kind of play now more in Stan Wawrinka than in Novak. The way Wawrinka is playing right now is how Novak used to play too. Hit the ball hard, paint the lines.

I don't think coming to the net more often like he does now is good for his game. He's trying to play more like a classical player which he isn't. I don't know if it's to do with Becker.

He needs to play to his strengths and not try to become a Becker or Edberg. He's a baseline machine who can also win points at the net when required. That's how he should continue playing.

What he's lacking the most right now is Confidence. His serve, when on, is still better than Nadal's. He still wins more cheap points with the serve than Nadal does. The difference is Nadal stays focussed far longer than Novak does in a match.
 
bjsnider

bjsnider

Hall of Fame
Becker made the point a while back that serves have gotten slower since his day. McEnroe said players are taking something off the serve to raise the percentages. I'm not sure if that's a good idea, because I can't think of a men's match I've ever seen that was won or lost because of an accumulation of double-faults. I have seen Sharapova lose because of double-faults, but that's a different matter. Maybe Becker is pushing Djokovic to take more risks. This would be a good thing, since Djokovic plays better when he's playing that way than when he's playing it safe and trying to be boring.
 
Bender

Bender

G.O.A.T.
Djokovic2011 said:
I think you've been watching a completely different player! To me Djokovic's serve has regressed, his ground game is nowhere near as aggressive as it used to be, his focus and mental strength seem to have gone downhill and even his ROS seems to have lost some of its sting. It's funny but if Nadal or Federer[especially Fed in his prime] break serve at the very beginning of the set I'm confident that they'll continue holding their serve to the end of the set/match whereas with Djokovic I just don't feel the same. Even when he broke Nadal at the start of the 5th set during last year's FO SF I just knew he wouldn't be able to maintain it. It's something he really needs to work on otherwise it will continue to cost him big matches in the future like it has already. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it needs to be an Isner type serve, I just want to see a few more mph on it if possible. But apart from all that I think he's doing great! :wink:
Click to expand...
That's because it's been proven that being unbroken against Rafa at RG 2009 is pretty much impossible.

NB: Actually, who has been unbroken in a set against Rafa at RG? Soderling? Isner?
 
Chico

Chico

Banned
Djokovic has always been and is still first and foremost an offensive minded player and nothing has changed there. He has always played offensive shotmaking game and he is playing it now as well.
 
Solo

Solo

Banned
Welcome back Chico!

Great to see you bro, join our new brethren thread in the Pro Results section.
 
S

spinovic

Hall of Fame
Djokovic2011 said:
I think you've been watching a completely different player! To me Djokovic's serve has regressed, his ground game is nowhere near as aggressive as it used to be, his focus and mental strength seem to have gone downhill and even his ROS seems to have lost some of its sting. It's funny but if Nadal or Federer[especially Fed in his prime] break serve at the very beginning of the set I'm confident that they'll continue holding their serve to the end of the set/match whereas with Djokovic I just don't feel the same. Even when he broke Nadal at the start of the 5th set during last year's FO SF I just knew he wouldn't be able to maintain it. It's something he really needs to work on otherwise it will continue to cost him big matches in the future like it has already. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it needs to be an Isner type serve, I just want to see a few more mph on it if possible. But apart from all that I think he's doing great! :wink:
Click to expand...

To clarify, my observations only apply to 2014. I didn't see this in 2013.
 
S

spinovic

Hall of Fame
Like I said, maybe I'm wrong. Some of you have no doubt watched more than I have this year, but in the matches I have watched that seems to be the case.

Obviously, in a match like Australia vs Wawrinka, his opponent was dictating and being the aggressor, but generally speaking when someone is not in that zone and he has the option, it seems like he is playing more aggressively. Bottom line, to me, in 2014, he has looked stronger on serve and weaker on return.

But, it could just be the matches I have watched. I'm not willing to argue the point much. I was really just curious if others thought that.
 
Djokovic2011

Djokovic2011

Bionic Poster
Solo said:
Didn't you just say Nadal will be winning the trophy on Sunday? Ohhh, I'm sure you did, you flip flopper ;-)
Click to expand...

Just because I think Djokovic can beat Nadal doesn't mean I think he can beat him all the time in every tournament. Nadal is more rested after going out early in Indian Wells and it shows in his play this week. When you also take into account that he's hungry to win one of the few tournaments to elude him so far I'd hardly call it flip flopping to suggest that I think he'll win. Needless to say I hope I'm proven wrong. :wink:
 
U

ultradr

Legend
spinovic said:
Is it just me or does Djokovic seem to be trying to play more aggressively and offensively in 2014?
Click to expand...

Yes, especially in serve and serve returns.

I think it's partially due to influences from all these coaches who were pros in 90's: Becker, Edberg and Chang...

Look how aggressively Nishikori returns serves. And Djokovic has twicked
his serve and serve returns!

Well, Federer didn't change much but I start noticing changes in other players...
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
phnx90 said:
That's because it's been proven that being unbroken against Rafa at RG 2009 is pretty much impossible.

NB: Actually, who has been unbroken in a set against Rafa at RG? Soderling? Isner?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm pretty sure Soderling and Isner make the list. I think Federer does too for some of the sets he's won.
 
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Chanwan

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
spinovic said:
Like I said, maybe I'm wrong. Some of you have no doubt watched more than I have this year, but in the matches I have watched that seems to be the case.

Obviously, in a match like Australia vs Wawrinka, his opponent was dictating and being the aggressor, but generally speaking when someone is not in that zone and he has the option, it seems like he is playing more aggressively. Bottom line, to me, in 2014, he has looked stronger on serve and weaker on return.

But, it could just be the matches I have watched. I'm not willing to argue the point much. I was really just curious if others thought that.
Click to expand...

To me as well and the stats support that view.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Novak-Djokovic.aspx?t=mf (not sure whether it has the latest matches or not)

Holding serve 91 % of the time. That's 3-4 percent better than his best years and equivalent to Fed at his best.
Breaking serve 30 % of the time, that's well below the 2011 peak and also below his usual stats (again, comparable to Fed in Fed's good years)

If he can return as he did against Nadal and keep producing easy holds, he's unstoppable.
 
Chanwan

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Djokovic2011 said:
I think you've been watching a completely different player! To me Djokovic's serve has regressed, his ground game is nowhere near as aggressive as it used to be, his focus and mental strength seem to have gone downhill and even his ROS seems to have lost some of its sting. It's funny but if Nadal or Federer[especially Fed in his prime] break serve at the very beginning of the set I'm confident that they'll continue holding their serve to the end of the set/match whereas with Djokovic I just don't feel the same. Even when he broke Nadal at the start of the 5th set during last year's FO SF I just knew he wouldn't be able to maintain it. It's something he really needs to work on otherwise it will continue to cost him big matches in the future like it has already. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it needs to be an Isner type serve, I just want to see a few more mph on it if possible. But apart from all that I think he's doing great! :wink:
Click to expand...

See my comment above - Djoko's hold game is better than ever
 
5555

5555

Hall of Fame
Cup8489 said:
This thread is about Djokovic being more offensive. Your comment was about facts and opinions. Therefore it was off-topic.
Click to expand...

Off topic post is a post which is irrelevant.
In every serious discussion it's important to know which statements are facts and which statements are opinions so it's relevant to ask questions in regard to that matter.
Thus, my post is not off topic.
 
Last edited:
Cup8489

Cup8489

G.O.A.T.
5555 said:
Off topic post is a post which is irrelevant.
In every serious discussion it's important to know which statements are facts and which statements are opinions so it's relevant to ask questions in regard to that matter.
Thus, my post is not off topic.
Click to expand...

Your post about facts and opinions WAS irrelevant. We all are fully capable of discerning between the two, and so additional explanation of facts and opinions is redundant. Consequently, you choosing to bring up a redundant topic is making an irrelevant post. Therefore off-topic.

Also, your post is off-topic.

On-topic: Djokovic is becoming more offensive oriented, but he needs to rectify that overhead..
 
S

spinovic

Hall of Fame
Chanwan said:
To me as well and the stats support that view.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Novak-Djokovic.aspx?t=mf (not sure whether it has the latest matches or not)

Holding serve 91 % of the time. That's 3-4 percent better than his best years and equivalent to Fed at his best.
Breaking serve 30 % of the time, that's well below the 2011 peak and also below his usual stats (again, comparable to Fed in Fed's good years)

If he can return as he did against Nadal and keep producing easy holds, he's unstoppable.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the stats. All I can say is that it looks that way to me. And, I agree, if he can maintain the serve and get his return close to what it was before, he will be very difficult to beat.
 
5555

5555

Hall of Fame
Cup8489 said:
Do you plan on discussing this thread at all?
Click to expand...

In your previous post you've said that we are all fully aware what's the difference between a fact and an opinion. I've replied that many times in other threads there have disagreements whether statements are facts or opinions which means that some posters do not know the difference beetwen a fact and an opinion. So, as you can see, mentioning what has happened in other threads is relevant for the discussion here.
 
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