Tennis - Exhibition Match - Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - December 27, 2023 Serbia's Novak Djokovic during an interview after the match
Novak Djokovic is the player whom everyone aspires to defeat, but facing him on the court is a challenge that few truly desire.
Djokovic has kept his imposing aura intact well into what should be the twilight of his career.
He also has so many weapons on court and is infamously stubborn about not giving in to defeat.
Holger Rune, who bested Djokovic at the Paris Masters last term for arguably the biggest win of his career, believes that the Serbian’s dominance starts in the mind and in his stoic presentation.
When the Athletic asked Rune what made Djokovic tough to face he came nack with: “His mindset. When you play him, even though you play some good points, it feels like it doesn’t hurt him at all.
“He’s just there on every point, playing often his best tennis on every point, giving full effort. It maybe sounds easy to put full effort into every point, but in the heat of the moment, it’s not. It’s really impressive to see.”
Roman Safiullin believes that nobody is tougher to beat across five sets than Djokovic and feels that the prospect alone can drain energy from his opponents.
“Mentally. This is the one word that I can describe. He’s mentally on a different level,” Safiullin said.
“When you see how he prepares before the match and when he steps on court, you feel that it’s a different energy.
“To play against him, you have to be like 120 per cent, 150 per cent, all the time — for five sets. If you drop 5 per cent, then he takes you.”
No discussion about facing Djokovic would be complete without considering his incredible return.
Lorenzo Musetti says that it is tough to not be left awestruck by Djokovic’s returns.
“The timing that he has is probably the best I have ever seen. It’s incredible, especially how he returns,” Musetti said.
“It seems like he knows minutes before where you are going to serve.
“It’s a joke how he returns, and how it’s always with him leaning forward and never going back. If I have to choose one thing, it’s probably his timing on the ball, especially with the backhand. It’s never late, that’s something really amazing.”
Defensive tennis used to be a bit of a dirty term but Djokovic has elevated it to an artform according to Casper Ruud.
“I think he has taken defensive tennis to a new level,” Ruud said.
“The way he moves and the way he’s been able to counter-punch from deep, out to the side of the court. It’s just really tough to hit winners against him.
“He gets to balls you don’t think he can get to. Even from those positions, he’s able to hit great counter-attacking shots with good depth. And he reads the game really well on top of that.
“Every time you get a short ball against him it’s tricky to know which side to go to because he guesses right most times, and even when he doesn’t guess right he’s able to get there.
“He’s just taken defensive… not defensive tennis, but how well he defends to a new level.”
