Djokovic Made Himself Into A Champion Says Macci After Record-Breaking 2023 Season
ATP
Serena Williams' ex-coach Rick Macci spoke about the secrets to Novak Djokovic's trophy-laden success in light of his record-breaking 2023 season.
Djokovic shattered numerous records this year and engraved his name in the history books. He won seven titles including three Grand Slams. It is the fourth time in his career he won three out of the four majors in a season - the first man to achieve this unprecedented feat.
Djokovic also accumulated prize money in eight figures for the ninth year. He ended 2023 earning the highest prize money of any player across both tours despite playing just 12 ATP events (banked $15,952,044) and became the first man to achieve at least an 80% win rate on all court environments on tour.
As Djokovic continues to conjure these odds-defying numbers, many athletes and coaches have tried to emulate what the Serbian has so successfully done behind the curtain to keep himself at the top of his game even at the age of 36.
Rick Macci believes Djokovic has "many secrets" when it comes to productivity. The American coach stated that Djokovic's solitary goal in the beginning was to improve rather than compete. He wanted to get better at what he did.
Djokovic came under heavy criticism in the early phase of his career because he retired frequently from tennis matches. So he needed to fix his stamina and endurance by completely changing his meal plan.
A few years ago, Djokovic also underwent nasal surgery to correct a chronic sinus problem. Macci explains in an episode of the Match Point Canada podcast that Djokovic's dominance came in a very "tough era" after preceding struggles while trying to figure out himself.
"There’s many secrets you know. First off, long ago his number one goal was to always get better, he changed his diet, he had sinus surgery, (and) he made himself into a champion."
"Because early on, he would like to retire a lot, so it wasn’t like he came right on the tour and dominated. His dominance has been really since 2008 or whatever and he’s going against you know Rafa and Fed, and Murray was still in there, so he did it in a tough era."
The 68-year-old then expounds on the Serbian's mental fortitude, calling him a "different animal" and says the dedication and discipline he puts in achieving this is not spoken about enough. Macci admits that greatness is associated with mental strength and Djokovic possesses this attribute.
"First off, mentally he’s a different animal and that’s always the first that people have to understand when they look at greatness. I’m sure when he’s retired the stories that he will tell about going in the mountains, hanging out with the wolves, all the meditation he does, the visualization."
"People have no idea what this guy does. All I see is what they see on television. But behind the curtain of greatness, people just have no idea, you know we might have a little better idea but this is a unique person in that regard. So mentally it will be interesting to see how he elaborates on all that stuff."
