{"id":11889,"date":"2019-01-25T14:42:49","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T19:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=11889"},"modified":"2019-01-25T14:42:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T19:42:49","slug":"surprising-changes-novak-djokovic-rafael-nadal-tale-tweaks-australian-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2019\/01\/25\/surprising-changes-novak-djokovic-rafael-nadal-tale-tweaks-australian-open\/","title":{"rendered":"The Surprising Changes Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal Have Been Making: Tale of the Tweaks in Australian Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the ridiculously short offseason for professional tennis, Novak Djokovic was eager to make changes to an area of his game that the tennis world thinks is pretty much perfect: \u00a0His return of serve.<\/div>\n
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Djokovic was looking to tweak the all-important \u201csplit step\u201d on his returns, according to a source.<\/div>\n
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Why would arguably the greatest returner<\/a> in the history of the sport want to mess with something that, both statistically and visually, was working so well?<\/div>\n
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75 million people who play tennis worldwide<\/a> understand. It\u2019s an almost-pathological addiction: The constant chase for perfect strokes.<\/div>\n
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In the competitive player\u2019s mind, there exists the knowledge that his next opponent is every bit as fiend-like, obsessing over details that will win key points, win the match… win the championship.<\/div>\n
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And perhaps Novak Djokovic was right to fine-tune his strength because that\u2019s exactly what Rafael Nadal was doing as well<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Statistically one of the best servers to have ever played tennis, particularly on his second serve<\/a>, Nadal was busy working on a slightly different service motion.<\/div>\n
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Now it\u2019s time for all those hours filled with minutiae–the grasping for an edge–to be uploaded in a\u00a0clash of colossi<\/a><\/i>: \u00a0Djokovic versus Nadal.<\/div>\n
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How have the changes been holding up so far in their respective runs through the Australian Open<\/a> on the way to the men\u2019s final? \u00a0A look at the numbers:<\/div>\n
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Djokovic\u2019s Return of Serve<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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A key metric to judge the efficacy of the return game is receiving points won. It\u2019s an especially noteworthy statistic for players like Djokovic, whose return, rather than serve, is a foundational aspect of his game.<\/div>\n
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When Djokovic beat Nadal in the semifinal of Wimbledon last year–an epic 5-set drama that played out on two different days–Djokovic\u2019s percentage of receiving points won was passable.<\/div>\n
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He won 76 of 210 points on the receiving end, for a total of 36%. \u00a0He managed to eke out the win over Nadal with that.<\/div>\n
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What about against a power server? In the final of the 2018 US Open<\/a>–a match in which Djokovic captured the title in 3 sets<\/a>–Djokovic won 39% of the points he received (35\/89).<\/div>\n
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Those percentages in the mid-to-high 30s were pre-tweaks to the return. Clearly the Serb was looking to dominate more, perhaps aggressively striking first with his return.<\/div>\n
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So how has it been shaping up so far?<\/div>\n
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Djokovic has received a total of 580 points at this year\u2019s Australian Open so far and has won 249 of them. That\u2019s a receiving point winning percentage of 43%–a substantial improvement over those earlier percentages.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Whatever he\u2019s doing on the timing of his return may have made him even more dominant in this area of the game than he was before. A scary thought for any server.<\/div>\n
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Nadal\u2019s Serve<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Let\u2019s consider the effects of the Spaniard’s altered service motion that some have speculated is designed to put less pressure on his often-injured lower body.<\/div>\n
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In that now-storied Wimbledon<\/a> semifinal of 2018, Nadal won 134\/210 points on his serve. It\u2019s a somewhat pedestrian winning percentage of 64%, and he did lose that match.<\/div>\n
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Conversely, so far in this year\u2019s Australian Open through 6 matches, Nadal is winning 74% of his points on serve.<\/strong> That\u2019s a more Rafa-like number, worthy of some vamos love.<\/a><\/div>\n
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It\u2019s possible that a reduction in strain on his lower body after the serve is helping Nadal take over points more quickly and efficiently.<\/div>\n
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So in this battle between tennis titans, Djokovic and Nadal–one of the greatest rivalries the sport will ever see–look for the nuances of this particular matchup: Rafa\u2019s adjusted serve versus Djokovic\u2019s recalibrated return.<\/div>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>