Long Read: How Becker and Ivanisevic upgraded Djokovic’s game and Moya changed Nadal’s mindset

At 36 and 35 respectively, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s evident physical limitations may have shortened their schedules, but they continue to be the main protagons and odds-on favourites ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year.
They have won 8 of the last 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments, and Djokovic comes into the Australian Open as the overwhelming favourite, while Nadal, despite six defeats in his last seven, remains one of the top contenders.
Their untouchable recent record at the Majors has led to significant mythologising of their abilities at the top level, and how their aura has been enough to spook a talented younger generation who may have the game, but are never able to get across the finish line in best-of-five sets tennis.
A closer look at their evolution, however, from their dominant peak to their later years, shows adaptability and versatility that few others in tennis hory have displayed, and points to some of the reasons for their longevity at the top.
Mindset shift
In 2017, Nadal’s build up to the Australian Open would make his current form seem like a stroll. The Spaniard was reeling from two separate surgeries and two Slam-less years, with his place among the world’s elite in question. For a player so famously obsessed with routine and process, it was time for radical change.
Nadal ended his long-standing relationship with his uncle/coach, Toni, hired former World No. 1 Carlos Moya, and ripped up the script that no longer worked for him. Moya joined him on the condition that, with injuries and fitness issues persing, Nadal needed a new approach to both preparation and match play.

Knowing that Nadal had the tools – natural power, famed forehand, rapid side-to-side footspeed – Moya advocated for a change in mindset, rather than technique. Starting slow, convincing Nadal to do shorter bursts of higher-intensity training, Moya’s entire plan hinged on spending less time on court.
Nadal’s elite defensive skills, with significant wear and tear of his body, needed to pave the way for a more aggressive playing-style. The focus was not on playing bigger and striking the ball harder, but on intelligent and calculated risk-taking. This involved taking up more advanced positions on court, especially on return, a new and improved one-handed backhand slice that added variety and helped in getting his forehand into play earlier, and greater service speeds.
Knowing that Nadal had the tools – natural power, famed forehand, rapid side-to-side footspeed – Moya advocated for a change in mindset, rather than technique. (Twitter)
All of these measures were used to shorten rallies, win more cheap points, reduce his time on court, and ease the pressure on his body. “Sometimes he feels like he’s still 20, and that’s not the case, so I’m there to remind him,” Moya told the New York Times in 2019.
The new strategy took time to implement fully, but the change in mindset was immediately evident in Melbourne in 2017, following which Nadal won eight Grand Slam titles. And if it was the unusual appointment of a former World No. 1 as a coach that elongated Nadal’s career, it’s the spate of former greats Djokovic has hired that elongated his.
Celebrity coaches
Tennis coaching in general, tends to be an unusual job. There’s uncertainty involved, and many top players go their entire careers without employing one. Hiring a former great as coach, multiplies the risks and the attention even more.
While trends in tennis coaching are hard to predict, an obvious pattern is that high-profile tennis players usually work as coaches when dealing with elite players. They can’t be fundamental in player development, but are rather effective in improving the fine margins, zeroing-in on particular strengths.
No player has worked with more former greats than Djokovic. His highest peak came when he worked with Boris Becker, winning six Grand Slams, including four in a row, in a two-year period. Becker helped Djokovic gain a mental edge, his body language and ability to fight back under pressure turned around immediately. But there were tactical tweaks too.
Djokovic’s passive court positioning, often the case with players that can defend well, left him vulnerable to an opponent that could isolate him well behind the baseline and take control. His court positioning today, sticking tighter to the baseline and exerting more control in the rally, is an outcome of his partnership with Becker.

Control has become a crucial aspect of Djokovic’s game, another aspect that Becker focused on encouraging him to be more proactive, rather than reactive, during longer exchanges. The Serb became more forward-thinking, using the variety of weapons in his arsenal to put himself in the best position to win points, rather than wait for his opponent to lose them.
After a ten-month injury-curtailed time with next great-turned-coach Andre Agassi, in 2019, Djokovic signed on Goran Ivanisevic. the time the Croat joined his team, Djokovic’s game was recognised most to be one of the most well-formed and well-balanced games in the hory of the sport. But Ivanisevic was able to improve one area – his serve.
Evolving serve
Inherently a reactive sport, the serve is one of the only controllable elements of a tennis match, allowing a player to construct the rally to play to their strengths.
With weaker service games in their 20s, it then comes as no surprise that both Nadal and Djokovic have relied much more on their serves in their later years.
In 2018, major elbow surgery forced Djokovic to begin altering his service motion. And the time Ivanisevic, a ferocious serve-and-volley player of his era, joined his team a year later, the technique began to be perfected.
Under the Croat’s eye, Djokovic opted for a more fluent motion, letting his racquet go through the ball rather than waiting for it to fall. Through a lower ball toss, and bringing the racquet closer to his head, he was able to generate more natural momentum, and the speeds began increasing, making it one of the more reliable serves on tour at present.
If Djokovic’s service change was more subtle, Nadal’s was all-the-more pronounced. His post-2017 aggressive approach would be impossible to implement if he did not give himself the best chance to open up the court and use his powerful, topspin-laden forehand as much as he can. To do so, he needed to push his opponents wide on the return going for more powerful serves.

The change was not just in approach here, with a minor tweak in technique, using his body more in the follow through of the serve – visibly putting in more physical effort – to gain in speed. But the change in mindset, of calculated and precise risk-taking, influenced his vastly improved second serve. He had the highest winning-percentage on the second serve on tour between 2017-2019 before he started playing less due to injury issues, a stat that would have been unthinkable five years prior.
Nadal’s recent poor run of form might be due to his serve letting him down. The abdominal injury he suffered in July last year led to him failing to use the improved technique and getting the same service speeds.
While much of Nadal and Djokovic’s success has largely been credited to generational talent, it is the slightest improvements that can prove to be decisive in elite-level tennis. And there are no players that have been better at making those improvements, some of which will be on display this coming fortnight.