Novak Djokovic benefited from 'chip on his shoulder' and luck in form of Wimbledon draw says Andrea Petkovic

Novak Djokovic is into the final of 2024 Wimbledon having had a pretty good run through and also proving a lot of doubters wrong in the process but in the view of Andrea Petkovic he benefited from two facets.

Those being a lucky draw with Djokovic not playing anyone really on his level until the final where he will face Carlos Alcaraz which will be the real acid test. Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti are perhaps the only sort of exceptions to the rule. But both don't have great records against Djokovic despite showing out at times against him.

"The path to the final wasn't the hardest, but he also came into the tournament with a chip on his shoulder. Sometimes you need a bit of luck in tennis, from the draw. He had that this time. In addition to anticipation, Djokovic has one thing more than anyone else - adaptability," she said on Amazon Prime Video as translated from German.

"He adapts to the surface, the circumstances and his opponent. Tennis is the only sport where you have to constantly adapt. New surfaces, new balls. Novak is the best at adapting. Many people sometimes doubt that he is the greatest of all time, even though he has broken all records. I think that's exactly why. There is such a thing as the silhouette theory. When you see someone, the silhouette, whether you recognise him directly. Novak doesn't have it. And why doesn't he have it? Because his greatest strength is his adaptability and not being a single version."

Michael Stich was full of praise for Djokovic and said he almost looked like he had a magnet in his pocket due to the ability to change the trajectory of the ball at a moment's notice. "Musetti wasn't quite able to match his game against Fritz. Novak is one of the few players who is able to adapt to his opponent. Novak can improvise, he can bring other styles of play onto the court, he can change everything and change it in the end," he said on Amazon Prime. "That's one of his greatest talents. He has an incredible anticipation to read where the next ball is going. That's why he's always half a step quicker on the ball than anyone else. I don't know how he does it, does he have a magnet in his pocket? That was very impressive again today."