World No.1 Novak Djokovic has gradually enhanced his service game in recent years. He has made his service a weapon from weakness since his resurgence in 2018. One of the biggest servers of the tour Reilly Opelka appraised Djokovic’s serve as an effective part of his game but his masterclass in other aspects of his game backs his serve.
The Serb won 88 percent of service games in the 2019 season, standing fifth in the service games won leaderboards. He has been able to win those free points and take the pressure off his serves.
It’s more so because of everything else in his game – Reilly Opelka
In 2017, Djokovic made a bold decision to go back to his old serve and trash his new service motion after minor surgery on his right elbow. Hence he once again revamped his service motion in order to put less pressure on his elbow. Consequently, the improvement in his service is noticeable. However, Opelka believes it his ‘baseline’ game that supports his serve.
“I think it’s more so because of everything else in his game. He does serve very well. But he’s breaking serve more than 30 percent of the time, which is ridiculous,” Opelka said in an interview with ATPTour.com.
“Obviously when you give him the first strike of the ball, it’s going to be even higher. He does serve well and it’s not talked about. But it’s really the rest of his game that makes him impossible to break,” he added.
Djokovic’s serve is certainly one of the biggest factors for his recent success at the major events. However, there is always room for improvement and he will definitely look to improve his serve to a whole new level after the tour resumes the coronavirus subsides.
