Throughout his distinguished career, Novak Djokovic has been referred to by many names, and on the evidence of his insightful tactics, he might have earned the title of a predator.
What separates the best tennis players from the average or mediocre ones is their ability to excel in important areas such as shot execution, baseline decisiveness, mental toughness, and physique. Another understated approach is in-game management.
This is the split-second decision tennis players must make to change the course of a point or game. Tennis players have to think strategically within a short time on the court, and Djokovic recently shared a fascinating tip on how he achieves this through eye contact.
Yes, Djokovic, winner of 24 Grand Slams, believes some of these subtle moments, like observing your opponent's changeover routine, breathing process, and sweating patterns, provide plentiful areas of weaknesses that he could use to his advantage on a court.
In a recent interview with Jon Wertheim on CBS News, Djokovic explains that while tennis is not a contact sport, he states that eye contact is sometimes a key ingredient he uses, and that helps him to make rapid decisions at the expense of his opponent.
Djokovic said these minute details can affect the performance and the match itself, which is an incredible insight into his discreet tactics.
"Even though there is no physical contact in tennis, there's still a lot of eye contact. When we are changing ends, when we're sitting on the bench, and then the big screen shows him how he drinks his water. And then I'm looking at him. How is he drinking water? Is he sweating more than usual?"
"Is he breathing deeply or not deeply? And then I look how he's communicating with his team, you know. You have all these different elements that are in play that really affect the performance and the game itself."
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