"Novak didn't hit a single ace" - Former coach of Emma Raducanu highlight's Djokovic's serving woes during loss at Indian Wells
ATP
Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic suffered a surprising loss to Botic Van de Zandschulp in their second round encounter at the 2025 Indian Wells event, leading former player Dmitry Tursunov to comment on the decline in some aspects of the Serbian's game.
Djokovic dropped the opening set to his Dutch opponent in their clash on Saturday, before battling back to claim the second. However, the five-time Indian Wells champion was unable to capitalize on his momentum, as Van de Zandschulp ran away with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory.
Poor serving stats played a role in Djokovic's downfall, says Tursunov
The former top 20 star transitioned from player to coach at the end of his career, having worked with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu and Belinda Bencic. Tursunov believes Djokovic's defeat came due to the 24-time Grand Slam champion's inability to employ his once reliable serve.
"I think everyone understands that Novak is currently far from his best form,” Tursunov said in an interview with Championat. “That’s why the match didn’t go well. What is striking is that Novak didn’t hit a single ace. Three double faults is not that bad.
“But the fact that there was no ace on the serve of one of the best tennis players is probably already a small warning sign. 67% of first serves is not so bad, Botic had 71%. The problem is rather in the percentage of winning serves, which is 63% for Novak and 60% for Botic behind the first ball.
"That is to say, in this category, Novak was in the lead. But there is a huge gap in the percentage of points won on the second serve – only 29% for Djokovic compared to 71% for Van De Zandschulp. This is not allowed on the men’s circuit. With such an indicator, it is simply impossible to win.”
“But the fact that there was no ace on the serve of one of the best tennis players is probably already a small warning sign. 67% of first serves is not so bad, Botic had 71%. The problem is rather in the percentage of winning serves, which is 63% for Novak and 60% for Botic behind the first ball.
"That is to say, in this category, Novak was in the lead. But there is a huge gap in the percentage of points won on the second serve – only 29% for Djokovic compared to 71% for Van De Zandschulp. This is not allowed on the men’s circuit. With such an indicator, it is simply impossible to win.”
Djokovic suffered a similar fate in his Qatar Open loss against Matteo Berrettini, when he was only able to win 30% of points behind his second serve. Nonetheless, the 37-year old has been confirmed for next week's Miami Open.
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