Novak Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, has highlighted three aspects of his game that have improved since his victory in the ATP Finals this year.
In addition to praising Djokovic’s improved forehand and serve power, the 2001 Wimbledon champion said that Djokovic has improved his net game substantially. Djokovic won a record-tying seventh title at the year-end championships on Sunday, defeating world No. 4 Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the 2023 ATP Finals final.
This year has been one of the best for the 36-year-old’s incredible career, as he has won seven titles, six of which have come at Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, and Masters 1000 events.
When Djokovic won the ATP Finals, Ivanisevic was questioned about how the Serbian had changed as a player over the previous year at a press conference.
Ivanisevic expressed his thoughts about Djokovic and said: “It’s very tough to improve with him. But he wants to improve. That’s a good thing and a bad thing for me as a coach and the rest of the team. I think he improved a lot in his volleys, his game at the net, and his position at the net. Now he knows what he’s doing on the net. He’s comfortable at the net. In the final of the US Open, he played the two and three most important volleys against Medvedev. He’s not afraid to come to the net.”
He further added: “He’s hitting the forehands much, much harder. He’s going for the shot. Serving: I think second serve; sometimes he’s hitting over 200. He’s just going for it. You could see it in his eyes. It’s very tough to beat Novak twice in one week in the same tournament. Today was a completely different match, completely different. Tactically, Novak played completely differently than on Tuesday. Jannik felt a little pressure. Big final, a lot of expectations. If you doubt yourself a little bit against Novak, that is not good for you. Then you go. Like when you face the lion, if you have doubt, it is going to eat you in two seconds. Thank you for coming and bye-bye.”
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWLWLWWW Ranked world no.1, Djokovic played his last match on the 19th of November when he beat world no.4 Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-3 in the final in the Nitto ATP Finals to win his 98th career title.
At the moment, during this season the Serbian owns an overall 55-6 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 7 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open, Paris and the Nitto ATP Finals. Novak reached the final in Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic |
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