“Novak Djokovic’s serve was pretty sh*t… he's figured out a way to hit his spots”

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs and German former tennis player Andrea Petkovic recently dissected Novak Djokovic's journey with his serve.

Djokovic has accumulated a staggering 7,113 aces since turning pro in 2003. He, however, committed 2,901 double faults over the years as well and maintains a conversion rate of 74% on the first serve.

To put it into perspective, one can look into Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's numbers as the two have tasted success of similar proportions. Nadal fares poorly in terms of aces against the Serb's numbers as he has managed to smash only 3,988. On the other hand, Federer seems untouchable with his total of 11,478 aces.

In terms of doubles faults, Djokovic ranks lower than Nadal and Federer, who have recorded 2,145 and 2,759 double faults, respectively. The Swiss naturally ranks better than him with a 77% conversion rate on the first serve and the Spaniard falls behind with 72.

Djokovic may not be widely considered the most successful server in tennis history on the men's side but Stubbs feels that the Serb has mastered the ability to hit the spots precisely after his initial struggles.

In a recent episode of Racquet's Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs said (1:06:26):

"Novak’s serve when he first started out was pretty sh*t. He would double-fault, his elbow was too low, there was a lot of things going on, something I think Goran’s really helped him with. But he’s an amazing spot server.

"You look at Novak’s serve now, ‘Would I teach Novak’s service motion? Absolutely not!’ I don’t think it’s a great service motion. But he has figured out a way to hit his spots and he aces more than a lot of people do."

Novak Djokovic serving "really well" isn't the first thing that comes to one's mind, suggests Andrea Petkovic

Novak Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam winner

Andrea Petkovic claimed that one might not credit Novak Djokovic's serve for his unprecedented success at first glance but they all praise the Serb's serve upon being asked to name his strengths.

"I like to ask players who have actively played Novak and every single person I asked says ‘He serves really well!’, which wouldn’t ever be the first thing that comes to your mind," Andrea Petkovic said, via the aforementioned source [at 1:07:15].

The German continued:

"With everything else and him serving the spots and then his strength from the baseline really messes with your mind because now you can’t get an in on his serve."

Andre Petkovic competed on the WTA Tour from 2006 to 2022 and accumulated seven titles while also reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 9.

Rennae Stubbs, on the other hand, found the majority of her success on the doubles circuit as she won three Grand Slam trophies in the doubles and two in mixed doubles, and was once ranked the World No. 1. She was also a part of Serena Williams' coaching team at the 2022 US Open.