"Serena Williams was the same" - Novak Djokovic's on-court antics just an outlet for Serb to let emotions out, says Rennae Stubbs
Former tennis player Rennae Stubbs talked about Novak Djokovic's similarity to Serena Williams regarding their on-court antics.
Speaking on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the Australian analyzed Djokovic's behavior during matches, most recently those during the 2023 French Open.
Stubbs is of the opinion that the 23-time Grand Slam champion likes when there's a certain kind of chaos during his matches, which is often self-provoked. Djokovic sometimes likes to let his emotions out on his team, with Stubbs believing that it does wonders for him during matches.
"He wants to yell at his box just to let stuff out, not to actually yell at them and embarrass them or anything. He just wants to let his emotions out, and that was that argument with the umpire and all that other stuff," Stubbs said.
The 52-year-old explained that the Serb is similar to the legendary Serena Williams in that sense, who could just break a racquet one moment and move on the next without letting it affect her game in any way.
"There's no question about that. He needs to have an outlet and that just how he gets through matches. Serena (Williams) was a little bit the same, sometimes, with letting her emotion out."
She'd break a racquet, and then just move on. Some players need that, and some don't. For some, it really detracts from them, but for Novak it doesn't," Stubbs pointed out.
"Novak Djokovic didn't yell at us against Carlos Alcaraz, which surprised me" - Goran Ivanisevic
Novak Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic said that he was surprised that his protege wasn't as emotional as he can sometimes be during the 2023 French Open semifinals.
Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, after the Spaniard started seriously cramping at the beginning of the third set. A couple of days later, he downed Casper Ruud in the final to win his record 23rd Grand Slam title and take back the World No. 1 spot from Alcaraz.
During his post-tournament press conference, Ivanisevic revealed that the team told Djokovic he needed to stop talking as much as he did previously.
"I'm very proud of him, especially last two matches. We told him if you want to win this tournament, you need to stop talking to us too much," Ivanisevic said.
The 2001 Wimbledon Champion explained that Djokovic's behavior during the semifinals surprised him as he was more focused than he normally is.
"If you noticed against Alcaraz, and especially today in difficult things, he didn't look. He didn't complain. He didn't yell. I was surprised, you know. But happy," the Croatian revealed.
"Very focused, especially against Carlos in the semifinals, that's when he plays the best tennis. That's when he's not wasting energy on unnecessary things," Ivanisevic added.