Coach Patrick Mouratoglou explains why Novak Djokovic's return is the best in the world
Esteemed coach Patrick Mouratoglou is of the opinion that Novak Djokovic is the best in the world when it comes to returning serves. Mouratoglou used Djokovic's footwork as an example to show what makes him such a dangerous receiver.
Mouratoglou has been coaching Serena Williams for the past decade and has overseen Stefanos Tsitsipas' training since 2015.
The French coach posted a YouTube Short on Wednesday, pointing out how Djokovic tweaks his split step to gain an advantage over his opponents.
The split step is a very common move in tennis. It involves a small hop right as the opponent plays their shot, which gives a player increased maneuvarability and balance. It helps players to react faster and more efficiently to balls in any direction.
Djokovic Return Points / Return Games Won:
2011: 45% / 39%
2015: 43% / 34%
2021: 43% / 35%
Via ATP Player Stats.
While most players take the split step directly in front of them as their opponents serve, Mouratoglou alerted viewers to the slight difference in what the World No. 1 does.
Novak Djokovic takes steps either towards the T in the middle to prepare himself for serves launched along the center service line, or towards the sidelines so he is better equipped to handle serves going away from him.
"He's doing the split step either inside, so he can anticipate the serve on the T or outside, so he can anticipate the serve out wide," Mouratoglou said.
According to Mouratoglou, this anticipatory move while his opponents are serving enables Djokovic to gain a valuable edge when returning.
Novak Djokovic won the most first serve return points in 2021
No player has won more first serve return points than Novak Djokovic in 2021. He won 1,172 of the 3,272 points he contested, which amounts to a win percentage of 35.8%. In second place is Diego Schwartzman, who won 1,023 of his 2,886 contested first serve points (35.45%).
2021 atp stats recap:
1st serve return won %
Djokovic 35,82
Schwartzman 35,45
Nadal 34,33
Garin 33,33
Medvedev 33,12
Alcaraz 33,12
Goffin 32,26
de Minaur 31,92 https://t.co/yqilm2MAbj
Djokovic's 2nd serve return win percentage of 54.1% puts him in the top 10 this year, with only Jannik Sinner (54.22%), Casper Ruud (56.66%) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (57.29%) winning more points than him.
In terms of total return games won, Novak Djokovic is far ahead of the pack. He has won 273 out of 789 return games this year, with a conversion rate of 34.6% in 58 matches.
Daniil Medvedev, in second place, has a conversion rate of 30.65% and has won 270 out of 881 return games in 71 matches. Although Rafael Nadal has a better conversion rate (35.62%), his sample size was much smaller due to his injury - 130 return games won out of 365, in 29 matches.
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