From ‘Liability’ to ‘One of the Best in the Game’, Novak Djokovic’s Technical Transformation Dissected in Detail by Andy Roddick

A few days back the current world number 1, Novak Djokovic had stated that if he were honest and not humble, he’d win the season-ending championship this year. He also said that even if he’s humble, he’d still pick himself as the winner! Even the 41-year-old former world number 1, Andy Roddick had picked Djokovic ahead of the homeboy Jannik Sinner for the finals. One question that comes to mind is; how has he managed to remain consistent and achieve such astonishing results this year? Well, Roddick points out the serve of the tennis veteran which ‘no one talks about’.

The Serbian veteran defeated the 22-year-old Italian 3-6, 3-6 in the finals of the 2023 ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday. This victory took Djokovic a step ahead of Roger Federer. The Serbinator now sits at the top with 7 ATP Finals titles, overtaking Swiss Maestro’s 6. Djokovic described 2023 as one of his best seasons. 

Roddick highlights Djokovic’s improved serve, deeming it the ‘best in the game’

Andy Roddick disclosed that he hadn’t bet against the number 1, in the last decade. So, even though he was quite impressed with the performance of the youngster from Italy, he picked the 36YO Serbian ahead of the finals. Roddick praised the serving skills of Novak Djokovic and highlighted how he had worked on it to get better results. Here’s what he had said to the Tennis Channel.

“You can just cut and paste my answer from yesterday where I said that for the last decade, I haven’t bet against Novak and until further notice, I’m not going to. Listen, someone might sneak a win in here & there. Sinner obviously beat him three days ago & this is no disrespect to the way Sinner’s been playing this week. I couldn’t be more impressed with his game but something we don’t talk about enough is, I think Novak’s serve is better than it’s ever been”.

“Early in his career, it was a bit of a liability, especially the second serve, you would kind of throw a grenade on the second serve & it would sit up a little bit & you could actually get to it. Now he runs it in & out of the corners, hits a slice, mixes in a little kick. It’s as good as its ever been for Novak & it’s one of the best in the game now,” quoted Andy Roddick.

It took just 5 days for the world number 1 to return the favor to Jannik Sinner. Now, what’s ahead for Novak Djokovic? Fans are now looking forward to 2024, expecting the Serbian to pick up from where he had left in 2023.

New Year, New Season but same old routine for Novak Djokovic

Can he clinch 4 out of 4 major titles this season? To get this answer, he would have to start it from the Australian Open which is scheduled to take place from January 14. Even here Andy Roddick gave his early prediction and backed Novak Djokovic. He predicted the Serb to take his major titles count to 25 at Melbourne Park.

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But before that, the tennis veteran would like to complete this incredible year by leading Serbia to their second-ever Davis Cup title in Malaga. Serbia will face Britain on Thursday, can he bring more glory to his nation? Well, we’ll have to wait till then. As Djoker is now busy celebrating his 400 weeks as number 1 with his fans in an all-week challenge. What are your thoughts on the impeccable run of Novak Djokovic in 2023? Let us know in the comments below.

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