Novak Djokovic has the bright, intense gaze that you occasionally see in the young monks of the Monastery of Aghiou Panteleimon or Helandariu, on the Orthodox monastic peninsula of Mount Athos. And when confronted by tennis fans, who skirt the gilded fish bowl that is the tennis circuit, Novak fixes them with earnest eyes, and for that moment he conveys the feeling that they are the centre of his attention. Quite a feat, when you are confronted by pen-pokers every day of your life, and Novak is appreciated all the more for his seemingly effortless attention.

The Novak Djokovic backhand is a wonderful fusion of timing and fuss-free technique. Novak plays especially well 'on the lunge' and, like Jimmy Connors, composes an artful balancing act when forced by his opponent to play at full stretch.
His short time game on the return is one of the best in tennis. He pulls shortened loops through the air on both wings, making the pre arranged meeting of racket and ball with not a millisecond of waste. In fact, like Agassi, he trims his returns to perfection and cuts the cloth of his adaptable backswing according to the measure afforded him by the speed of the approaching ball.

It is understandable that bright young minds will wander and some days he looks like he's just going through the motions, with his head still on a pillow or in some book. But his friend Viktor Troicky ignited the blue touch paper at the just the right time in the 2010 US Open, and, whilst nothing is assured in tennis (because your opponent might eclipse your own perceptions of destiny...and of course Nadal did!), the signs throughout the tournament were clear to see and Djokovic was boiling nicely to (near) perfection.

When Novak has been worked (or worked himself) into the zone, and he is in the grit of match play and in line-clipping mode, he is a feast of timing and precision.

Like Rafa, Djokovic can attack with height and ferocious spin, which takes much of the risk out of aggression. But he is also capable of flatter, net-clipping precision too and his unerring down the line backhand is pure class.

From a certain viewpoint, it seems a shame that the likes of Nadal and Federer have out bid him in the Grand Slam stakes. But then again, each has the potential to measure what the other guys are made of. And whilst Rafa and Roger have already proved themselves, the next couple of years could see them validate the worth of Novak Djokovic as well.


Elements of the stroke technique of Novak Djokovic is featured in the Animated Tennis Book.