Novak Djokovic has a very ‘underestimated’ serve, according to coach Goran Ivanisevic, particularly when he needs it the most.
Djokovic beat Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 to win a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals on Sunday to cap off an incredibly dominant tournament for the Serbian.
Ruud could not even create a break point against Djokovic, such was the authority of his serving, and Ivanisevic is not really sure why the quality of it does not get the recognition it deserves.
“His serve was [a] very underestimated shot all through [his] career,” Ivanisevic said after the match. “If you look so many matches, five, 10 years ago, his serve always saved him somehow
“But now he's even better. Now he always wants to improve. Especially this week, amazing percentage, amazing precision of the serve. Every time he needed, he hit [an] unbelievable first serve. His second serve is much better.
“But his serve is one of the best shots which people, they don't talk [about], because they have so many other things, they forget to talk about his serve. He has one of the best serves. Especially when it's tight, it's tough, especially this week he was hitting unbelievable serve under pressure.”
The development of his serve to become such a potent weapon has not happened by accident, though, and Ivanisevic says there is no secret to Djokovic’s longevity. It is simply down to hard work and desire.
“He's [a] guy who wants to improve all the time. He's taking care of his body. Look at how he moves on the court, slides. He's amazing,” Ivanisevic said.
“It's always something that now the world offers you to be better, to improve. I think in that case players are playing in much older age, and they're playing well. Maybe some of them, they're playing best tennis. They're looking unbelievable.”
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