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Why does Djokovic need to be on the verge of losing to play his best ?

5K views 51 replies 31 participants last post by  Nole fan 
#1 ·
I've always been interested / liked / admired Djokovic's "roller-coaster" method.

It struck me first in his match against Baghdatis in Wimbledon 2007.

And since then, I've been used to this kind of "method" / match and games scenario/rhythm.

First you can see it during a serving game : he's been one of the players who wins the highest number of serving games at 40-30 or something. This is visible in the fact that comparing to other top-players, he has always been better in stats for the % of games won than for the % of points won ; he's also been regularly the best at saving breakpoints comparing to the number of points he wins on serve.

He can play a few loose errors-points in the beginning of the game, but then when he's in danger, he seems to focus again deeply inside him and then gets very solid.

This is typically the kind of things that struck me in his match against Baghdatis in Wimbledon 2007 ... and even more surprising was the number of times when he had looked upset ... but then immediately, right for next point, he could be and look extremely focused (I guess he does that concentration work partly during his bounces on serve).

In more recent years, a new consequence of that has appeared : the number of matches he has won after facing match-points against him or being in huge danger : against Fed, Tsonga, Murray, Seppi ...

Imo he was clearly the better player in his matches against Fed in the US Open 2010 and 2011 and the WTF 2012, it was no hazard that he won those matches : I mean his best level was superior to Fed's, and he mainly won when he "activated" that level.

However, another problem related with this method is that his slow starts, with lower level, may cost him a lot :
- against Nadal in the Australian and the French Open
- against Murray in the US Open
- against Fed in Cincy
- against Fed in the French Open 2011
- against Tsonga and Seppi in the French Open
etc ...

When you get way behind your opponent, it can become too hard to come back in the end, and your opponents can clinch the match with a few points which go their way even though they're lesser players.

If you're interested, Tignor also noted that trend several times on his blog.

Why does he do like that ? a matter of adrenaline ?
 
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#5 · (Edited)
I think Djokovic is indeed an extreme example, but the trend isn't uncommon for players of this quality. They can play incredible tennis, but it requires an extraordinary amount of concentration and focus. To do this for a whole match is very difficult, arguably impossible (when talking about long matches). That Djokovic has a very strong control over WHEN that focus is at its height, is a quite important characteristic that makes him such a great player. All great players have a degree of control over this, but some to greater or lesser extents. For those people who play tennis, they will recognise what a rare skill this is. Simply trying to focus harder is not sufficient, it is a genuine skill to be able to 'tune in' the way that these top guys can when they have to. When Djokovic is feeling good about his game, it feels like, should he want to, he can pretty much make himself a wall, such that only very extraordinary tennis from an opponent can win them the point. Djokovic enjoys having a rhythm, which may go part of the way to explaining why he can only seem to bring that level a fair way into a match. Add to that how much adrenaline helps and it paints a fuller picture. Djokovic also has an advantage in his playing style, which is that he returns so very well. What this means, is when he reaches that level, it is less frequently hidden by failure to impact on serve. For comparison, Federer can tune in with an opponent serving at *5-4 (ie, needing to break) but be less likely to take advantage of that focus because his return game is more passive than Djokovic's, the same is true for Nadal.

Edit: this is all off the top of my head so may be messy and probably requires more thought.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I agree that it's a greatly important specific skill and about the "becomes a wall" thing, but I can't think of many players like that, Hewitt yes, as Statracket mentioned, but I can't think of many others.

Besides, being able to focus constantly for a match doesn't look that much like a rarity to me in top-tennis. Nadal may be the best at that, maybe, but many other players enter that scheme imo (as he has been mentioned, imo Fed is less constant than Nadal but he's more in that scheme imo). You may be right about the "management of a long match" thing, but Djokovic's problem doesn't only appear in long matches imo.

And it would surely be easier for Djokovic ... and his fans :lol: if he was able to play that level all match long.

Is it impossible for him ? maybe not (not sure : in a few matches he could play that level from the start to the end), Statracket and you may be right, but then it's both a quality and a problem imo.

I also think like Statracket that it may mean that his game needs adrenaline to be at his best, as it was also the case for Hewitt. And that adrenaline level is imo what separates him most from Murray for instance, even though it's not the only thing.

The fact that Djokovic needs rhythm is another explanation you bring here and which sounds accurate to me.
 
#8 ·
When he is losing, sometimes he sorts of "give up". He starts going for big shots, aggressive tennis and his opponents most of the time get scared. They get used to reserved, safe, patient Djokovic, and all of sudden when they are about to beat him, balls are coming back more often and with more pace. Fear kicks and boom they lose.
 
#12 ·
He's been conditioned to focus hard in these 'trouble' moments.

Watch Derren Brown's experiments. There's your answer.
 
#17 ·
Probably it's some kind of rhythm/get in the groove thing. In the WTF final he didn't win a point until half of the set was gone. Ok, Fed was really awesome, but not winning a single point is somewhat unusual. However, as the match and rallies were getting longer, he was better and better.

It's a nightmare for a fan though, often I'd turn off the video and just check live scores time to time. :lol:
 
#19 ·
:lol: a good one.

Nole needs much better serve me thinks in critical moments.
 
#20 ·
Well sometimes he's on the verge of losing... and he loses.
 
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#28 · (Edited)
Even as a Djokovic's fan I have to admit that he didn't achieve as much as he should have this year due to his inabilities to win the set at 5-5, count how many sets in those matches that he lost this year with a 5-7 reverse, most notable was the us open final against Murray, he could have won it in straight sets or 4. Ok so he doesn't have the lethal serve of Fed, hence his tiebreak records is not that good for a number one player in the world. I think he needs to learn when it's important to break serve ie at 4-4 or 5-5. There's no point of breaking your opponent 3 times in a set (against Querrey in Paris) and can't break him even once in the next 2 sets. He was also undone by the 7-5 scoreline against fed at 2011 FO semi, all 3 losses at Wimbledon this year etc. Also against Nadal on clay this year at Monte Carlo. All in all, he's not that strong minded, but finally justice prevailed when he beat Fed 7-6 7-5, the sorts of scoreline that was against him all year.p
 
#29 · (Edited)
Even as a Djokovic's fan I have to admit that he didn't achieve as much as he should have this year due to his inabilities to win the set at 5-5, count how many sets in those matches that he lost this year with a 5-7 reverse
in Fed-Djoko's 29 matches (yes more than Fed-Nadal's 28 matches now and they approach to the numbers of matches in the H2Hs between Becker and Edberg or Lendl and McEnroe ;)), there have been quite a lot of 7-6 and 7-5 (30 ones in 29 matches that's quite a lot in my eyes)

... and there have been more 7-5 scores than 7-6 !!

which means that when they go to 5-5 the probability of a break in next two games is high.


Part of it is Djokovic being a great returner rather than a great server imo which means that with him a lot of breaks can happen (it's also the case for Murray : as I've often said Djokovic and Murray are rather return-oriented, Fed and Nadal more serve-oriented, which means that their stats show that there will be more breaks in Djokovic's and Murray's matches),

part of it is that a lot of mental things happened in those moments.

So far these sets have been quite tied but some trends are interesting :

- 9-7 for Fed for scores with the score 7-5 but it used to be 9-3 for Fed !! Djokovic has won the last four 7-5 sets they played, and each time after having already come back from a break before and accelerating in his typical adrenalin accelerating style "I'm better than you, guy" which I described in first post(2nd set of the AO 2011, 5th set of the US Open 2011, 2nd set of the FO 2012, 2nd set of the WTF 2012) ;

- 7-7 in tiebreaks but Djokovic had won the first 3 ones in 2007 when Fed was at his best in tiebreaks but Djokovic started his carreer greatly in tiebreaks (he was the one who broke the 2 longest Fed's tiebreak winning streaks), since then it has been 7-4 for Fed in tiebreaks (7-3 before last WTF)
 
#38 ·
#41 ·
I'm sure there's a matter of adrenaline. And also the fact that nobody can keep focused 100% of the time, so he's learned to come back and focus when he really needs it.

But I also think there's a very important aspect of Nole's personality: a sort of defiant daredevil. He loves coming from behind, he loves drama, he's at his best when he's against the odds. When he's in a tight spot, it's as if his whole body losens up and he hits the ball with abandon. I'm sure he finds those unlikely winners (like THE SHOT) wildly exhilarating, he feeds on them and lifts his level of play to really high levels: for a little while. He has to be careful.

What's amazing is how he can also be a very disciplined player, playing the rational and reasonable shots when he has to. His ability to switch from one mode to another is what's made him such a tough player to beat.

From a fan's point of view, it's very tough, we're always on what we call a Djokocoaster. But it's also intoxicating: I'm not alone in having felt a little bit let down during the first half of 2011, it was lovely to see him winning so easily, but there was something missing as well, the adrenaline to which we have probably become a little addicted. ;)

I wish he didn't have such slow starts... to this day, I think he would have given himself a much better chance to win Roland Garros and the USO this year if he hadn't had such appalling starts in both matches.
 
#42 ·
From a fan's point of view, it's very tough, we're always on what we call a Djokocoaster. But it's also intoxicating: I'm not alone in having felt a little bit let down during the first half of 2011, it was lovely to see him winning so easily, but there was something missing as well, the adrenaline to which we have probably become a little addicted. ;)
:worship: so true.
 
#44 ·
Because he's a hardcore mug. He acts like he's a 6 year old girl for most of the match, and then snaps out of it.

What a true GOAT :rolleyes:
 
#46 ·
He's one of those ball slappers when losing in a match, the best in the world at that. It's a bit of a gamble if you're crap but when you're as good as he is it would put opponents under a lot of pressure. Once you loosen up, slap a few balls in not only would the opponents be afraid of you but it will also be your massive confidence booster. Once you come back just play your normal tennis again and you're back on track with the match on your side.
 
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