"Defiance is a signature characteristic for him; He's such a vicious competitor" - Jim Courier on Novak Djokovic
Jim Courier believes Novak Djokovic's 'defiance' sets him apart from every other tennis player and makes him one of the strongest competitors of all time. Courier feels he is mentally strong enough to not only remain unflinching when fans are against him during matches but go a step further to use that energy to fuel his game.
The Serbian has often expressed how he uses fans chanting his opponent's name during matches to his advantage and as an added motivation to win. Courier highlighted that aspect of Djokovic's mental game and feels his ability to use any kind of energy around him to "stoke his fire" is what makes him special.
The American tennis great opened up about Djokovic's competitive nature on a recent episode of the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast.
"One of the things that makes him so special is the way he uses the energy around him, and not always the positive energy around him, to stoke his fire," Jim Courier said.
"Defiance is a signature characteristic for him. Any time the fans get on him, he uses that as fuel for his fire and he's such a vicious competitor. He's tough to knock down on any level," he added.
The four-time Grand Slam champion believes the World No. 8 will emulate the likes of Tom Brady and have a long sporting career, as he is much fitter for his age.
"His 35-year-old body is not the average 35-year-old body. I can easily see him playing for Tom Brady-like years," Courier stated.
His greatness first and then the conditions: Jim Courier on Novak Djokovic's stellar record at ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic is aiming to become only the second male player in tennis history to win six ATP Finals titles. Further highlighting his success at the season-ending championships is the fact that the five-time champion has not lost his opening round-robin match at the ATP Finals in every edition he has played in since 2009.
When asked about his views on his impressive record at the tournament, Jim Courier suggested that the Serb's success is down to the fact that he is very comfortable with the lower bounce in indoor hard-court conditions.
"To start with - his greatness. Then you move to the conditions, the lower bouncing court that hurts Rafa, it doesn't hurt Novak one bit. He is very comfortable taking the ball at waist level or even lower, and his game doesn't suffer at all," Courier explained.
The 35-year-old is set to face Casper Ruud in Sunday's final of the 2022 ATP Finals. He will end the season at No. 5 in the rankings with a victory against World No. 4 Ruud and will also clinch his fifth singles title of the 2022 season.