How good is Djokovic in the Paris Masters final?

France Missed many backhand shots at the beginning of the 2023 Paris Masters final, but Novak Djokovic promptly adjusted and won the championship with the certainty of these shots.

Djokovic's backhand in the final against Grigor Dimitrov was considered by the ATP to be the key to the 6-4, 6-3 victory. It seemed to help Nole build an impenetrable wall. Thanks to that, the world number one tennis player controlled the flow of points steadily from the back of the court.

Djokovic's defense was considered classic, with him coming to the net only five times and "dodging left to hit right" 15 times from the left court (Ad-court) during the match. Djokovic invested heavily in his backhand and after a difficult start, it paid off with his 40th Masters 1000 title.

Djokovic hit 101 baseline backhands in the match against Dimitrov in the Paris Masters final on November 5. Photo: AP

Djokovic missed six of his first 13 baseline backhands, not counting returns and volleys. Dimitrov attacked effectively early in the match with backhand slices and powerful backhands. After the match, Djokovic said both players played tight in the early games. In fact, Nole was the more consistent and adaptable one.

After a few stumbles, Djokovic made no errors on his final 29 backhands of the first set. This put pressure on Dimitrov, who gradually understood that he had to hit winners to collect points rather than wait for backhand errors from his opponent. Overall, Djokovic hit more backhands than forehands in the match, as he was content to build points through the Ad-court box and force Dimitrov to take risks to win rallies.

In the baseline, Djokovic hit 101 backhands (57%) and only 76 forehands (43%). The backhand brought Nole three winners and forced his opponent to miss 11 times, while the forehand brought two winners and forced Dimitrov to miss nine times.

Djokovic’s master plan is to hit as many cross-court backhands as possible into the ad-court box, to force Dimitrov’s one-handed backhand. 73% of the Serb’s backhands are cross-court, 10% are mid-court, and just 17% are down the line. By comparison, Dimitrov hits just 60% of his backhands cross-court, 23% are mid-court, and 17% are down the line.

Djokovic won the decisive point of the match with a successful backhand pass to Dimitrov. Photo: Tennis.com — Djokovic won the decisive point of the match with a successful backhand pass to Dimitrov. Photo: *Tennis.com*

Dimitrov may also feel comfortable playing Djokovic cross-court on the backhand, but that means he’s also cutting down on his powerful forehands. Dimitrov hit just 101 baseline forehands in the match, compared to 93 backhands. A forehand ratio of just 52% never helped the Bulgarian dominate Djokovic.

Djokovic turned the final into a defensive battle by frequently going backhand and staying deep in the baseline. Dimitrov had no way to counter Djokovic’s solid backhand, despite his deep base. 34% of Djokovic’s shots came when he was more than two meters from the baseline, 52% when Nole was within two meters, and only 14% when the Serb was in the court. Dimitrov’s numbers were 14%, 67%, and 19%, respectively.

Djokovic's deep stance also contributed to Dimitrov's 70% point winning rate at the net (7/10). After the match, the Bulgarian player will probably wonder why he didn't try to find more opportunities to go to the net, instead of standing at the back of the court to compete with Nole. In the US Open final with Nole, Djokovic took full advantage of Daniil Medvedev's deep stance, serving the ball to the net 22 times and winning 20 points. Medvedev only realized this after the match and was very tormented.

Dimitrov used many left-hand cuts in cross-court rallies with Djokovic. Photo: Reuters — Dimitrov used many left-hand cuts in cross-court rallies with Djokovic. Photo: *Reuters*

Dimitrov's poor baseline game was also reflected in his poor returns, as he won just 19% of his first serve points and 31% of his second. Notably, for every two first serves Nole took, Dimitrov missed one. This high rate prevented Dimitrov from having a single break point in the 98-minute match.

Djokovic, in many matches, often wins by dominating his opponent in all areas of the court. Against a Dimitrov who was fired up by eliminating Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous rounds, Nole wisely switched to solid and tough mode in the final. The world number one bet on his backhand and was rewarded when his opponent was poorly adapted, discouraged and made many tactical mistakes.

"Even when Djokovic was not in the best physical condition, he could always put me in a very uncomfortable position and make me strain my body on every shot," Dimitrov admitted after the match. "If you beat Djokovic in the final, it would definitely be one of the biggest achievements you can achieve in this sport ."

Vy Anh

Source link