Novak Djokovic has the weakest smash in the top 100, says Boris Becker
Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic had a hugely successful partnership a few years ago. Becker coached Djokovic from 2014 to 2016 and in that time, the Serb amassed six Grand Slam titles and finished as the year-end World No. 1 twice.
Recently, however, the German coach criticized a particular weakness in the Novak Djokovic's incredible game - his overhead smash.
You have no idea how much Novak Djokovic and I practiced the smash: Boris Becker
Boris Becker's partnership with Novak Djokovic led to the German getting acquainted with the various intricacies of the World No. 1's tennis. And like many other experts, Becker believes Djokovic's smash needs a lot of work.
"I'll tell you one secret. And I can say this because he is my buddy. But do you know who, in my opinion has the weakest smash in the top 100 of the world? Novak Djokovic. Believe it," Becker said in a coaching session for Top Level Tennis.
The Serb is perhaps the most well-rounded player on the tour, with scores of titles on clay, grass and hardcourts. Djokovic is also the only player to have ever won every single Masters 1000 title at least once.
His net game, however, has often been considered vulnerable. Djokovic is not as consistent with his volleys and overheads as, say, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are. In fact, Djokovic's troubles with the smash have led to the creation of an unflattering term for an overhead error made by any player - the 'Djokosmash'.
Boris Becker didn't mince his words either when talking about the 17-time Grand Slam champion's lack of composure at the net.
"You have no idea how much we practiced his smash," Becker said. "It's in his head! He thinks the ball is coming up and he wants to do something fancy, he wants to jump and I kept telling him: 'Keep it simple. Just win the freaking point!'"
Novak Djokovic comes into the US Open on the back of an excellent start to the 2020 season, where he has been unbeaten. One of just thre Grand Slam champions in this year's men's draw, Djokovic's biggest competitors are Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev - who were both Grand Slam finalists last year.
The last two Nitto ATP Finals champions, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, will also be at the US Open this year, and will be considered dark horses. But given his history and superior ranking, Novak Djokovic seems set to add an 18th Grand Slam title to his resume and close the gap in the all-time record - irrespective of how bad his smash may be.