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Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic’s Tennis Racquet

by TN May 14, 2016

written by TN

Novak Djokovic has been endorsing the Head Speed model for years. But is that what he really plays with? This article covers Novak Djokovic's Tennis Racquet.

Like in most cases with tennis professionals, what the player endorses and what he actually plays with are different things. This is also the case with Novak Djokovic's tennis racquet. This doesn't mean that amateurs will play much better using a so called pro stock tennis racquet but it does mean that in most cases the racquet companies are not being truthful to the customers. This is not new in any way and a lot of people know it, but the vast majority of people playing and enjoying tennis have no idea.

The racquets of the top players are often shrouded in mystery, but once in a while it ends up in the hands of a fan or a stringer who either sells it on a tennis forum (where the specs are then revealed) or eBay or decides to keep it for himself. But let's get back to Novak Djokovic's tennis racquet.

Novak Djokovic's tennis racquet – Specs

Djokovic is playing with a model called something as sexy as PT113B. It's based on an old model called Ti/iRadical from early 2000. This mold is very difficult to get a hold of.

[Pic from TT forum poster “NikeUp”.]

Here are the specs of Djokovic's racquet:
Strung Weight: 359g (plenty of lead – see pic)
Strung balance: 32.8cm
Head size: 95 sq. inches
SW: 370
Flex: 60RA strung
Grip: 4 3/8, custom with side bevels extended making it more rectangular. Uses two overgrips over Head Calfskin. First overgrip wrapped with no overlapping, top overgrip normal.

Lead: placement all around the hoop, under the grommets then continues inside the hoop as shown on pictures.

Novak Djokovic's Tennis Racquet – It's not for everyone

Very few amateur players could comfortably play with a racquet that has a swing weight of 370 which means that it would have little value on the retail market and that's why Djokovic “recommends” the Head Speed Pro or Head Speed MP. They are both fine racquets in their own right and gives you a little extra power compared to Novak Djokovic's heavy and flexy stick.

This is a video of me testing Novak Djokovic's actual racquet.

So this is just the name of the game. Most recreational players will do fine with a retail racquet and need not worry about buying a pro stock racquet unless they really, really want to and have the budget for it. And if you’re not happy with your current racquet or haven’t found one with the specs you like, remember that you can always customise the racquet to your liking.

This post has dealt with Novak Djokovic's tennis racquet, but I’ve also written a good number of posts on what other ATP professionals really use and I’ve also reviewed a lot of retail racquets and if you want to buy a new racquet – you’ll find a few decent guides here:

Racquet buying guides

Here is a great racquet buying guide to get you started.
What tennis racquet should I buy?
Top tennis racquets to buy right now
The Gear of the Year 2016
Tennis racquets for juniors
Tennis racquets for kids

Some quick facts about Novak Djokovic:


AGE 30(1987.05.22)	TURNED PRO 2003	WEIGHT 170LBS(77KG)	HEIGHT 6'2″(188CM)
BIRTHPLACE BELGRADE, SERBIA	RESIDENCE MONTE-CARLO, MONACO	PLAYS RIGHT-HANDED, TWO-HANDED BACKHAND	COACH ANDRE AGASSI

May 14, 2016 12 comments

Dimitrov beats Djokovic, John Tomic beats Drouet

by TN May 8, 2013

written by TN

It's been a strange couple of days in the tennis world. Yesterday I saw one of my tour favorites, Grigor Dimitrov, beat both his cramping legs and his opponent, world number 1, Novak Djokovic in a three setter: 7-6 6-7 6-3 in the second round of Madrid Masters. Djokovic was hitting the ball well but twisted his ankle after a rally in the end of the second set and that could possibly have hampered him. You can't take away anything from Dimitrov though, he was spot on in all respects and deserved the win.

It would be very strange if Dimitrov isn't in the top ten by the start of 2014.

Someone who didn't deserve what was given to him was French player Thomas Drouet who got headbutted by Bernard Tomic's father, John Tomic, during a practice session with Bernard.

This is how Drouet describes it at tennis.com: “Bernard told him [John] he was tired of hearing his crap. I didn’t interfere as it’s been said here and there. After, John destroyed three racquets: Bam, bam, bam. A half-hour later, he was joking with Bernard.”

Drouet also talks about seeing Bernard being hit by his father: “I witnessed it. A club coach was also there and saw everything,” Drouet said. “He hit him in the head with his fist. Bernard bled from the mouth around the lips and teeth. Blood was dripping on to the court.”

Why John Tomic decided to hit Drouet still seems to be a mystery. The man himself claim it was self-defense, but why Drouet would attack John Tomic, should be even more of a mystery. Bernard came to the hospital to apologize on his father's behalf and this is how Drouet describes it:

“He told me: ‘I’m sorry. He went too far, it’s over. I don’t want him to come to tournaments anymore. Bernard has been a victim of his father forever. Many times, I’ve heard Bernard tell John he didn’t want him on the court. After that, it’s difficult for Bernard because he’s only known this way of working. He’s a hostage and he’s developed Stockholm syndrome.”

Shocking and sad stuff. You can only hope that Bernard is freed of his father's violence and that John Tomic is banned to ever get near a tennis court again. Damn you crazy sports parents, stop screwing up your children's lives.

Asshole John Tomic:

May 8, 2013 0 comment

News Predictions

Wimbledon 2012: 5 Things To Watch

by TN June 24, 2012

written by TN

Tomorrow it starts, the flagship of tennis events, the mecca of our beloved sport – Wimbledon.

Since lots of sites make lots of predictions, I want to be brief and focus on the most interesting areas of this year's Wimbledon. Here are my 5 favorite topics to watch for Wimbledon 2012.

1. Federer. As most readers of this blog knows, I'm a Federer fan and I'm of course both curious and hopeful about his chances of holding his seventh Wimbledon trophy and his 17th Grand Slam trophy. Many hold him as favorite because of the rather good season he's had so far (no slams, but several titles and a great match record) and his love for the low-bouncing surface and with Federer that's never completely crazy, despite him not having won a Grand Slam since Australian Open 2010. Djokovic and Nadal will be very tough to beat in five-setter, but I think feel that their chances are around 1/3 equal for the trio.

2. Nadal. Rafael Nadal won French Open and looks happy to be on a tennis court again. He seems to have killed the Djokovic ghost and for me he is the ever-so-slight favorite of winning his 12th Slam and his third Wimbledon title. His warm-up in Halle wasn't a success (losing to Kohlschreiber in his second match), but for Nadal I don't that matters so much. What matters is his forehand and if he can keep hitting it like he did in the French Open, with that amazing power and pin-point precision – I think he'll take it.

3. Djokovic. Novak Djokovic is still a monster on the tennis court, he still has a huge chance of defending his title, but he's not exactly the same beast as last year. He seems more easily frustrated, maybe expecting too much, maybe not moving quite as well. Something makes me doubt him a little more this year and I think he will lose a possible Federer-semi despite beating him in three straight sets at Roland Garros. I actually even think he might fall out before that if someone really inspired comes his way.

4. Dimitrov. (top pic) Youngster Grigor Dimitrov is a new favorite of mine. His game is very similar to Federer (eerily so), a bit more choppy but with an added spring in his step. He's been improving his game this year and had a good grass court warm-up in Queens and I hope he'll go far in Wimbledon.

5. Roddick. I was never a big fan of Andy Roddick's game, but my heart went out to him when he played a fantastic match against Federer in 2009, only to lose 16-14 in a marathon fifth set. He's been off his game for most of 2012, prompting reporters to ask him if maybe it's time to retire, but yesterday he won the title in Eastbourne and on grass he's always dangerous. He really deserves a solid run in Wimbledon and since he's played three finals there already, I wouldn't mind him doing an “Ivanisevic” and winning the title as a dark horse.

Also watch out for:

Milos Raonic – the big-serving Canadian is a threat for anyone on grass. Warning top players! ;

Tomas Berdych, John Isner, David Ferrer, Andy Murray will be tough to beat as well – but in my mind they aren't title contenders. Not even home-boy Murray and world number four, Andy Murray.

See the Wimbledon draw here

Let Wimbledon begin!

June 24, 2012 0 comment

News Predictions

Federer flat and Rafa ripped

by TN June 9, 2012

written by TN

6-4 7-5 6-3. For a Federer fan it was pure pain. The maestro who we all were waiting for, the one who had managed to put a dent in Djokovic's amazing 2011 season last year and who holds pretty much every record in the world of tennis, didn't show up. Sure, he was there, he pulled his hair to the side, he spun his racket when receiving, he took the usual casual strides around the court, but the real Roger Federer wasn't there.

It happens sometimes with Federer. He doesn't have rhythm, he doesn't have heart, he doesn't even look to be trying. We are waiting for a scream of anguish, an outbrust, anything to see that he's feeling something.But instead he's just fizzed-out like a flat soft drink. For a Federer fan, this hurts to see.

Djokovic on the other hand was there, he held his ground, kept everything in court, didn't make mistakes and returned wonderfully. He put the pressure on Federer and Federer caved in three straight sets, despite being up a break in both the first and the second set.

There's no discussion that Djokovic was worthy of the win, as soon as he broke back in those two sets, he took commando and Federer played far too many unforced errors to beat a player with Djokovic's confidence. To be fair, Federer didn't look great for most of the tournament. He was tested against Goffin, on the brink against Del Potro and “even” gave a set to Mahut.

Doesn't he see himself winning the French Open anymore or was it just a bad day at the office? Let's hope for the latter. We can be sure that he will work hard on the grass, where both Wimbledon and the Olympic Games are coming up on Federer's favorite surface.

I think we will find out there is “plenty of champion” still in him.

***

In the other semi-final Nadal didn't give Ferrer a chance. Not one. Ferrer tried to paint the lines and missed and Nadal only gave him five games in a 6-2 6-2 6-1 carnage. When Nadal is hitting his forehand this well and is looking so fit and inspired, it's hard to see even Djokovic beating him and that's why he's my favorite for tomorrow's final.

But then again, Novak Djokovic seems unable to lose.

June 9, 2012 0 comment

News Players Predictions

Fantastic Federer and Roaring Back Rafa

by TN January 24, 2012

written by TN

Two spectacular quarter-finals took place today, and they were spectacular in very different ways.

Federer‘s trashing of Del Potro was masterclass in efficient and brilliant tennis. Whatever Del Potro threw at the great Swiss, the tennis maestro had an answer to which shows in the final score 6-4 6-3 6-2. Del Potro didn't play bad at all, but today he was still a class below Federer who looks really eager to play his best in 2012. He will sure be a tough nut to crack for…

Rafael Nadal, who was really on the ropes against a Tomas Berdych playing the best tennis of his life. If Berdych can keep the kind of level of play like he showed against Rafa he should be knocking on the Murray's door very soon.

Berdych took the first set 7-6 and had a set point at 6-5 in the second set tie-break where he punched a volley long. Someone on Twitter said that it was ominous, much like Roddick's volley in the second set against Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon Final. The American had, like Berdych, the chance to get 2 sets up, but missed the volley and lost the match 16-14 in the fifth.

Berdych didn't get to the fifth set, but he played an amazing match which also shows how good Rafa is. Winning 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-3 against a top player on the top of his game is no mean feat and Rafa should, even after a 4 hour match like this one, be ready to give his best against Federer.

The “Fedal” is hard to predict, Rafa leads their H2H overall, but Federer is 5-4 on hard courts. Australian Open has slower hard courts though and this ought to favor Nadal in a way, but it still feels completely open considering how well Federer is playing. Both guys are dying to win another Grand slam – especially Federer who hasn't since 2010 – after Djokovic monster year 2011.

We can surely expect a great fight between the two, but the winner is far from certain of the title, because I would be very surprised if someone else than Novak Djokovic waits there and he's the man to beat at the moment.

No matter the outcome, we're in for some fantastic tennis action in the last few days of the Australian Open.

January 24, 2012 0 comment

Uncategorized

How It Feels Like to Play Novak Djokovic

by TN May 18, 2011

written by TN

May 18, 2011 0 comment

Players

Djokovic On a Run

by TN March 31, 2011

written by TN

Tennis is all about confidence. Everything can change with millimeters. A ball lands in, a ball lands out. Game point or break point. Feeling good or smashing your racket.

One guy who seems to be in no lack of confidence right now is Novak Djokovic. He is on a tear, having won 24 straight matches since November. If he keeps this up he will bag the difficult triple of Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. A feat only three players have done before, one of them being Federer. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls it off.

But what has changed things around for Djokovic? A year ago he was being a contender, often reaching the semi-finals of slams, but rarely the finals, winning some titles here and there, but nothing major (the Australian Open victory in 2008 is not really related to the current boost in confidence). Then all of a sudden he is the player on tour – a guy who can't put a foot wrong. What happened?

Only Djokovic can really know this, or at least hint at it, but tennis fans are free to speculate. The personal life of the player of course has big impact on the results, but since I don't know much about Novak's personal life, I am going to look at what has been happening on court.

I think the change in confidence came in last year's US Open semi-finals where Djokovic beat Federer in a grueling five set match. He always used to lose these matches against Federer, but this time he played fantastically well, worked hard, and it was obvious he had a stronger belief that he could do it. Djokovic looked re-energized. The Djokovic we saw in that match was not the one who was always complaining about breathing problems and quitting matches due to fatigue, injuries and whatnot. This was a more mature Djokovic, ready to put in the extra hour on the training court and ready to stop being the Djokster and elevating himself to a player of Nadal and Federer standard.

I believe there was a mental switch there and although he lost the final against Nadal, everybody was mightily impressed with how he beat Federer and I think Djokovic himself realized for the first time in a long time that he really can be the best player in the world.

The confidence changed there – it became a strong positive force and results followed. When he subsequently managed to carry Serbia to the Davis Cup title, the positive energy within Djokovic was really ready to take the world by storm in 2011.

And he has. The way Djokovic has performed in the beginning of 2011 is nothing short of breathtaking and you are starting to wonder if he really can take over the number one spot in the rankings from Rafa. The problem might be that Djokovic likes it best on hard courts, but if he can carry the momentum into the clay season – Nadal has something very real to worry about.

Will Djokovic become number one? Yes, I think he can. It might not be for long and I don't think he will win the number of slams of Nadal or Federer, but I do think he has everything make himself into a legend of the game.

Let's see how long the run continues.

Don't miss the quarterfinals today with Federer and Nadal in action. They are hopefully preparing to meet in the semifinals and that would be a rare treat for tennis fans all over the world.

March 31, 2011 0 comment