If you watched the final and didn't notice the seemingly endless ball bouncing Novak does before each serve, then you aren't watching. The question is, why?
Novak could train himself out of it. There must be an element of
stress on everyone, including himself, when he does the extended ball
bouncing. The umpire knows he'll get flak for letting him go past time
and will also be hit with flak for inserting himself into the match for
calling him on it. Novak has to worry about getting a warning as well so it raises his tension. Maybe that's the purpose.
The
opponent might be annoyed over it as well, causing anxiety. Maybe if it
was to get in the head of an opponent then it's an understandable ploy
but not good sportsmanship.
I think it's more about
an OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) routine. It's one thing to grab
your rear regularly or line up your drinks like Rafa, that's on his own
time. This directly impacts play.
Other Bad Habits
While we're on the subject of habits that could go, I'd suggest to never hit a ball after the point ends since it cost him a tournament. Either underhand toss the ball or drop them in place and let the ball kids do their job.
Skip the racket abuse altogether. Add a wire cutter in the bag so he can just methodically cut the strings out of the offending frame while on changeover rather than smashing it and torquing his arm and getting fined.
All of these habits have been costly to him.
Today, Novak's first serve was non-existent. He could have saved energy and just hit 2nd serves. It's hard to win matches like that and he came close. They had an equal number of games and Novak came up short by 1 point compared to Alcaraz's point total.
It's not clear and may not be clear until we see a pattern. To those
that think Novak is now finished, keep in mind that simply getting to
the final of a grand slam event is a career defining event for most
professionals.
Novak is an excellent exemplar of the key character indicators of hard work, discipline, stick-to-it, and single-minded-focus that define grit. If you want the guy that glad-hands everyone and is always perfectly political, then he might not be the miss-congeniality winner. The joke that became the best sportsman awards in tennis should tell us all how meaningless those items are when it comes to judging the best player.
I feel that much of this shade thrown over Novak is from the media narrative. He is the usurper on the Fedal dynasty. Many strongly partisan Fed fans were unhappy when Nadal began to overtake him not just in numbers but in H2H results. Their friendship was a good media device for tennis for sure.
Thee are also cultural considerations. Many Western sensibilities don't like the strong defiance and resolute determination that Novak displays against hostile crowds that often favored Fed or Nadal or other crowd favorites. He doesn't taunt them like Mac used to do but he will not back down. This is part of a national character that some perceive as arrogance while most in the English speaking countries go with the humble warrior model and most conform to that role.
Add in his personal choice to decline an experimental medical treatment and to accept the penalty of not playing as is his right. Yet he was vilified by many of the tennis establishment for not taking the knee and the jab. Arguments that this is arrogant are often put forth by compliant dupes that will line up for anything. I don't hear from many of the former pushers of this bragging about their boosters any longer now that we know the risks involved.
Stretching for flexibility is key in Injury prevention to ensure longevity. Here is the best example.
Novak - "So whoever I get to face across the net, it doesn't make a difference for me. I need to do what I need to do."
The Real #1 by Jason
https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2023/06/30/novak-djokovic-real-world-number-one/
Expert Picks - Wimbledon 2023
Drucker - Djokovic
Fitzgerald - Djokovic
Kane- Djokovic
Levey - Djokovic
Livaudais Alcaraz
McGrogan - Djokovic
Tignor - Djokovic
https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wimbledon-men-s-semifinal-final-champion-predictions-can-alcaraz-or-djokovic-be-
https://ausopen.com/articles/news/expert-picks-who-will-be-wimbledon-champions-2023
Since the focus and cutoff is the Open era, players like Laver and Rosewall are lower on the list than they would normally rank. See the legend at the bottom to understand the methodology. I found it interesting. https://www.ultimatetennisstatistics.com/goatList
