G’day From Paris,
You are the second most important person on the court. Not the first.
It’s not about what you WANT to do. It’s about what you NEED to do to get the W.
Novak Djokovic defeated Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the Roland Garros quarter-finals on Wednesday by doing what he needed to do to get the win, which meant a very heavy reliance on drop shots.
A group of cats is called a clowder. A group of foxes is called a skulk. A group of tigers is called an ambush.
I am hereby naming a group of drop shots a “drama” because that’s precisely what occurs.
Djokovic explained why he incorporated so many drop shots in his post-match interview.
“Yeah, was just trying to mix it up. At one point, you know, I felt like I couldn’t go through him, so I tried to bring him to the net. I try to risk it with the drop shot, with serve and volley. It had to be done,” Djokovic said.
It had to be done. That’s a trademark quote from any champion in any sport in the world. Do what needs to be done. Don’t just stay in your comfort zone. Problem solve. Adapt. Take the fight elsewhere.
Djokovic hit 35 drop shots. That’s some drama right there! He won 22 of them = 63%. That’s a crushing statistic for Zverev that speaks to his one-dimensional tactics.
Let’s break down the how and why of Novak’s drop shots.
Drop shots/stroke & direction
- Backhand line = 22
- Backhand cross = 8
- Forehand cross = 3
- Forehand line = 2
The easiest way to hit drop shots is with a backhand down the line. There are multiple reasons for this.
- You get to hide any grip changes behind your body, preparing for the backhand.
- You get to hide changes in the angle of the racket behind your body.
- It’s easier to “click” to a continental grip from a backhand grip vs forehand grip.
- It’s easier to get a lot of backspin on the ball coming from a backhand vs a forehand.
Djokovic Hit More Winners In The Service Box Than Past The Service Line
This Infosys graphic above is so compelling. W stands for winner, and A stands for Ace. We don’t care about the aces. Just the winners. Djokovic had 19 winners that landed in the service box and just 16 behind it. This speaks volumes to the Serb’s tactics of hitting short and hitting angles rather than hitting deep into Zverev’s comfort zone.
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The match started with Djokovic executing a dropshot on the very first point of the match. It also ended with Djokovic winning a dropshot on the very last point of the match. In between, Zverev did not know if he was coming or going. Djokovic’s drama had his head spinning.
Djokovic hit five of his drop shots for clean winners, while also committing four errors. This was only part of the story. In two rallies, he actually hit two drop shots each. This occurred because he pulled Zverev to the net with the initial drop shot and then lobbed him, sending him back to the baseline. And then, he pulled him back in again. Djokovic won both of these points. Dramaaaaa.
Djokovic served for the match at 5-4 in the third set and had to endure three deuces in a game that totalled 12 points. The Serb hit five drops in the last game, winning three of them. Hitting into the wind in the last game was helping him a lot.
“Against the wind, especially that side where I was, you know, playing the last game, I felt that the wind increased the last few games, Djokovic said.
‘I mean, from that end, it was almost like playing against two players. I felt like the ball was not going anywhere when you hit it. Yeah, obviously people don’t see that on TV, but on the court, you can feel it a lot.”
” I was obviously tense to finish off the match, and I think he has just playing consistent from the back of the court the last game, was not making errors, and was making me work.”
Zverev doubled down on “don’t miss” mode.
Djokovic adapted and pulled him off the baseline where that tactic didn’t hurt him.
The bigger the point, the more likely you were to find Djokovic hitting a drop shot. Zverev had one break point in the fourth set. Djokovic won the point with a trademark, deft drop shot.
Zverev’s game plan lacked imagination and adaptation. He was determined to set up shop deep in the court and not miss. He bet the bank on just putting the ball in the court. It was an easy strategy for Djokovic to punch holes in. The Serb served and volleyed on several occasions and hit touch drop shot volleys to take advantage of Zverev’s deep court position.
At a minimum, Zverev needed to counter Djokovic’s swarming drop-shot strategy and play closer to the baseline to shut it down. He didn’t. Zverev wanted to stay in his comfort zone and rely heavily on hitting backhand groundstrokes cross-court. Zverev hit 277 backhands and 249 forehands. That’s not enough offense. It’s not enough run-around forehands struck from the Ad court. Zverev loves his backhand. He needs to love his forehand more.
Djokovic now plays Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. The problem for Djokovic is that Sinner naturally plays closer to the baseline than Zverev does, making drop shots tougher to pull off – but not impossible. Djokovic will need the drop shot to mix up play, but if he overdoes it, it will be a field day for the Italian picking them off at the front of the court.
Bring on the drama!
Cheers,
Craig