As Wimbledon returns after a sad season without grass-court tennis, the question surrounding the men’s draw is simple: can anyone stop Novak Djokovic? Over the past 10 years of his dominance and destruction, similar questions have been asked before a major tournament, but rarely have there been so few potential disruptors waiting in the wings.
Grass has been a specialist surface with a fleeting competition season for some time, but the top eight seeds at Wimbledon are as unproven and inexperienced on the turf as any leading pack in decades. Aside from Djokovic, five times the champion there, and the eight-times champion Roger Federer, who is still seeking to rediscover consistency after two knee operations, the rest have one Wimbledon quarter-final between them.
Two years without competing on grass seems likely to reward those who are already comfortable on it. But such is the dearth of prominent young players who are (Stefanos Tsitsipas boasts a modest 8-7 record on the surface) that even the Queen’s champion, Matteo Berrettini, has been elevated into the circle of potential challengers.
After the launch of his Professional Tennis Players’ Association, Djokovic is a man of prominence in many ways, but his own comfort is not in doubt. He has won the first two majors of the year and is on the verge of joining Federer and Rafael Nadal on a record-equalling 20 major titles. After starting his career as a grass-court novice, Djokovic is chasing a sixth Wimbledon triumph.
This Wimbledon is another opportunity to take in one of the great returners of the era. With his fast reactions, timing, flexibility and hand-eye coordination, Djokovic is able to reach and neutralise the biggest serves in the game, landing forehand and backhand returns consistently deep, central and steered towards the weaker wing of his opponent. From there, he can shape points in his favour.
While it is becoming increasingly common for players such as Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem to return effectively from metres behind the baseline on all surfaces, offering them more time in the face of service bombs, Djokovic distinguishes himself in the way he suffocates his opponents. He usually remains closer to the baseline and moves forward into the ball, stealing time from the server and forcing them to collect the second shot behind some of their best serves from their laces.
In this year’s Australian Open final, Medvedev’s serve was victimised by Djokovic throughout. “Novak is returning unbelievable, so it always puts pressure on yourself,” he said. “You try to go for a little bit more, whereas when you hit aces you feel like you’re in the zone.”
Instead of finding the zone, Djokovic’s pressure means his opponents’ serving often becomes worse. Medvedev was broken seven times in three sets and swiftly disposed of.
The complexity of Djokovic’s return of serve is such that everyone has their favourite detail. Nick Horvat, a tour coach and consultant for Yonex, has coined the term “hit and fly” to describe how Djokovic launches forward towards the ball, a technique Horvat teaches to his charges: “Many players are doing it but not consistently. Novak is doing it almost every single serve.”
While Horvat believes Djokovic’s return technique can be emulated to an extent, he says his timing is unlearnable. Mert Ertunga, another tour coach, highlights Djokovic’s flexibility and his wide return stance after his split step as a detail he shares with many other great returners, allowing him to manoeuvre to either side and to evade body serves in one step.
The return of serve is probably the most underrated shot in the game. It is far easier for casual fans to appreciate a 150mph serve than the players who can consistently return them to a neural part of the court, particularly since tennis on television does not do justice to the velocity.
Among professional players the serve is king. So much of the game’s strategy is based on taking care of service games, one-two punches stemming from the serve and capitalising on the first four shots of each point. Federer once admitted he does not practise his return at all.
For Ertunga, broadcasters do not do enough to emphasise the importance and spectacle of returns. “It’s almost like a guy like Novak has to hit crazy good returns for them to say something, whereas he hits 30 other returns that are a really high standard by other players and we don’t get a replay. I’m sure that if Novak hit 35 aces, that would be the headline.”
