Novak Djokovic reacts after his match
Novak Djokovic’s return of serve has undoubtedly been one of his greatest assets throughout his remarkable career.
The Serbian is considered by many to be the greatest returner the sport has ever seen — but this key area of his game was not at its best at times in 2024.
Djokovic, who withdrew from the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, played his last competitive match of the season at the Shanghai Masters last month.
After losing 7-6(4), 6-3 to world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the championship match in Shanghai, Djokovic gave a brutally honest assessment of his season.
“Well, I mean, comparing to most of my seasons throughout my career, this has been one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results,” Djokovic assessed.
“But, you know, it was going to come at some point where, you know, I wouldn’t win Slams and maintain that highest level for so many years in a row.
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While Djokovic performed at a high level in the first set of his Shanghai defeat to Sinner, the 37-year-old was unable to create a break point or even get to deuce on the Italian’s serve in the match.
This was a continuation of a concerning trend that emerged for the 24-time Grand Slam winner this season.
The Shanghai final was the fourth match in 2024 where Djokovic did not have a single break point.
The other matches were losses to Alex de Minaur at the United Cup, Sinner at the Australian Open and Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open.
Matches in which Djokovic had no break points in 2024
United Cup QF – lost 4-6, 4-6 vs. Alex de Minaur
Australian Open SF – lost 1-6, 2-6, 7-6(6), 3-6 vs. Jannik Sinner
Italian Open 3R – lost 2-6, 3-6 to Alejandro Tabilo
Shanghai F – lost 6-7(4), 3-6 to Jannik Sinner
Between 2018 and 2023, Djokovic played 354 matches and — remarkably — had at least one break point on every occasion.
Djokovic’s four-set defeat to Sinner at the 2024 Australian Open is the only time he has not generated a break point in a completed Grand Slam match in his career.
Former world No 1 Mats Wilander assessed that Djokovic’s return was “definitely not where it used to be” during the 2024 French Open.
Conversely, Djokovic occupies third place in the ATP Tour’s Return Leaders statistical ranking for the 2024 season.
Djokovic’s return rating of 157.7 is bettered only by Alex de Minaur’s 167.7 and Carlos Alcaraz’s 164.4.
A player’s return rating is determined by percentage of first and second serve return points won, percentage of return games won and percentage of break points converted.
