Novak Djokovic's quiet legacy of mentorship

Time of India

2 days ago

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LONDON: They are everywhere in tennis , and they have been all across the Wimbledon grass this week: the newbies taking their first steps; the talents-in-waiting seeking advice. Even senior players, in need of some expert guidance, have stories. And they are all about the same player. Daniil Medvedev of Russia recalls a hitting session in Monte Carlo years ago that turned into a ride on a private jet to a Davis Cup match.Jakub Mensik, a 19-year-old Czech player, and Hamad Medjedovic, a 21-year-old from Serbia, talk about the training blocks and ongoing mentorship. Aleks Kovacevic, a 26-year-old American whose parents are from Serbia and Bosnia, has a tale from the U.S. Open weight room.The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is the player at the center of all these stories. During what may be his last, best chance for a 25th Grand Slam title, his latest mini-project is Aryna Sabalenka , the women's world No. 1. The week before Wimbledon, they hit for a while, then talked for 30 minutes.In her pretournament news conference June 28, Sabalenka said she listened closely as Djokovic kept going and going."If you give Novak the opportunity to talk, he's not going to stop," she said. "I wish I could stay there for four hours and just keep chatting."This is not an accident. The kings and queens of the sport have often carried themselves with a bit of aloofness and unapproachability. They want their current and future opponents to see them as something higher and larger than they are.Djokovic, though, has long embraced helping promising players, especially those from Central Europe and other smaller countries. He is playing a fellow Serb, Miomir Kecmanovic, on Saturday in Wimbledon's third round.But when his advice is sought, he doesn't particularly care what country a player is from -- or even if his assistance might one day come back to bite him.Mensik treasures the invitation he received when he was a junior, to travel to Belgrade and join Djokovic for a two-week training block. This year, Mensik beat Djokovic to win the Miami Open, as the player who had helped him become a champion sought his first win since the Paris Olympics and the 100th title of his career.During last month's French Open, Djokovic said helping younger players is something that he has long aspired to do."When I was younger, I was looking for that from the players that I was looking up to," he said. "Some were more daring or caring to share, and some not." He said he tells everyone that he's available for them "if they need a call about anything, because I feel like that's what I owe to the game."Holger Rune first met Djokovic as a teenager, when the ATP invited him to its tour finals to be a hitting partner. He ended up training with Djokovic regularly in Monaco. During one session, Djokovic stopped a cross-court forehand drill and told Rune he didn't need to hit the ball so hard. He told him to make fewer all-or-nothing shots. It's a mistake that, in Djokovic's view, young players in love with their power often make."He said he would suggest that I never go to more than 70 or 80% on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough but still with good quality," Rune said at a news conference in May. "His game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time, he has tremendous quality on his shots."In 2022, when Rune was 19, he beat Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters. It remains his lone ATP 1000 title, the level just below a Grand Slam.As a younger player becomes more of a threat, it would make sense for Djokovic to pull back a bit. He might be expected to withhold some of the secrets that have taken him to the pinnacle of his sport. Yet last fall, Alexander Zverev, a mainstay of the top five who has won five of his 14 matches against Djokovic, spent hours speaking with Djokovic about what he needs to do to win a Grand Slam title.Even though this sort of thing has been going on for years, players are still amazed by it."He's very important for me as a player and also as a person," said Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, whose game more and more resembles a version of Djokovic's. Sinner moved to Monaco, which used to be Djokovic's primary home, right around his 20th birthday, long before he entered the sport's upper echelon. He was a protégé of Riccardo Piatti, whose academy Djokovic attended when he was a teenager."I was lucky enough to practice with him when I was very young, in Monaco, we practiced a lot," Sinner said. "Every time when I asked questions, he answered me, in a very honest way."Medvedev got that treatment in 2017, when he was still outside the top 50. He was still uneasy chatting with Djokovic during breaks in their practice. At the end, Djokovic realized that Medvedev had been selected to represent Russia in an upcoming Davis Cup match in Serbia. Djokovic offered him a ride on his plane.Kovacevic met Djokovic at the 2005 U.S. Open, when he was 6 years old. Djokovic was unknown at the time, making his first journey through the tour and playing on a field court at the tournament, but their families kept in touch as Kovacevic developed. As a junior, Kovacevic warmed Djokovic up before another U.S. Open match.And then, in 2023, Djokovic drew Kovacevic in the first round of the French Open. Kovacevic had told the ATP Tour website about his experience of losing in qualifying at the 2021 U.S. Open, after holding multiple match points. At the gym the next day, with Djokovic chasing a calendar Grand Slam, he told Kovacevic to join his fitness session. It would help him recover from a tough loss, and he might learn some things.The biggest recipient of Djokovic's assistance may be Medjedovic, who won the ATP Tour Next Gen Finals in 2023. Djokovic helped fund his training and travel through junior tennis and even during his transition to the professional ranks. Medjedovic describes him as a much older big brother.When Medjedovic was 15, Djokovic sat him down and told him that he had everything it takes to become a great player, but he needed to believe more in his game, in his shots, and in himself.Djokovic has also tried to encourage Medjedovic to be more disciplined off the court, in what he eats and how he balances training and competition with rest. Adopting that has been harder for Medjedovic, as it often is for younger players, but he knows that he is going to have to start following at least some of the advice before too long."Novak is somebody that lives tennis 24 hours a day, from his sleeping, waking up, then meditating, stretching, eating," Medjedovic said during a recent interview.Those routines have helped Djokovic win Wimbledon seven times. He has made the finals the past two years, in the second half of his 30s. Mensik joked in his pretournament news conference that Djokovic's best Wimbledon advice was telling him to eat the grass if he wins the title one day.The next generation, at least those who have bothered to ask, is all ears. They soak it in like a sponge. And then they try to beat the guy who has told them his secrets. Djokovic wouldn't have it any other way."What's the value of the knowledge or experience that you have if you don't transfer it to someone who is coming up?" Djokovic said in Paris.All these players know the answer well.