Boris Becker, the coach of Novak Djokovic, talked to the BBC about the Serb's game and his long-term goals for his career.
Becker Talks to the BBC
The German believes that determination is a huge factor in the Serb's game. The childhood events from Djokovic's life helped shape him. "He wants it more," said Becker who thinks the childhood days characterized by the War shaped his character. "He suffered a lot. He went through hell and back when he was 10, 12, 14. I think when the core comes out for example in a Wimbledon final, he goes further every time."
First on Djokovic's list is to surpass the three men in front of him in terms of Grand Slam titles. Only Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer have more Grand Slam titles than the Serb, and it is his goal to surpass them. "He wants to break records, he wants to be better now than he was last year. There are many aspects of his games that have improved the last two or three years, I’m not going to give you too many details about that. But he has gotten better, and of course there are still a few things he needs to improve on."
He added, "Technically speaking he’s won four majors in a row, which you could call a Grand Slam. [But] You want to win the four in one year. I think it would be a lie to say that he wouldn’t watch the history of tennis. He’s aware that Roger won 17, he’s aware that Rafa won 14, that Sampras won 14. He’s aware that he’s now passing Laver and Borg and all that. Does he talk about it every day? Absolutely not. But I think he’s a student of the game. He wants to be part of the all-time greats, therefore, he knows who won and how many times."
Djokovic's defense is something he is known for. He is known as one of the best defenders in the world, if not, one of the best of all-time. His ability to turn defense into offense is amazing, and Becker addressed that. "I’ve never seen a player that plays defense better than Novak. Some of the balls he gets, how he puts defense to offense, it’s second to none. I think what he’s added is a bit of aggressiveness. A bit of going for the winners. A bit of improvement on the serve, and a bit of understanding that if you win the first couple of matches of a Grand Slam quicker you still have more energy in the semifinal or final."
Finally, Becker answered the reason on why Djokovic is so consistent, "He just puts everything into the practice. There is no practice that he is not intense. That mindset, that mentality, becomes reality for him."