
USA Today via Reuters
Aug 31, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot against Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune of Denmark in a first round match on day two of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Aug 31, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot against Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune of Denmark in a first round match on day two of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
While the quality and speed of serves are improving day by day, there is another rare trait that only a few players boast of. World Number 1, Novak Djokovic is among the greatest returners the sport has seen. Be it fast serves or perfect placements, Djokovic will try his best to make a competitive return of serve. Recently, a tennis bigwig gave Djokovic’s tag to another legend of the game.
Paul Annacone has had a successful tennis career where he won the Australian Open men’s doubles title. Additionally, he had a successful coaching stint as well, with the likes of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Andre Agassi received a special mention from none other than him.
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Paul Annacone rolls back the calendar to draw a special parallel between Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi
Recently, the former coach of Federer was involved in the Rock n Roll Tennis podcast, where he opened up about his coaching career and his time with the legends of the game. Subsequently, he also went on to praise Agassi’s returns. Talking about this, he said, “So that night after he (Pete Sampras) won, I talked to him about it and I said, ‘Do you know your second serve speed was bigger against Andre?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, it usually is.’ I was like, ‘How much bigger do you think it was?'”
Further, he went on to add, “I said, about seven miles an hour on an average. Why is that? Pauses for a second and he goes, a few reasons – one, Andre is the greatest returner out there, so I have to. And the second reason is I can’t.” Paul Annacone coached some great players, who mastered the serve-and-volley kind of tennis. However, Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic’s special skill wasn’t something his players were famous for. Recently, he also heaped praise on Novak Djokovic for a stellar season.
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Paul Annacone is in awe of Djokovic
The former tennis coach has been busy of late, featuring in several podcasts. In another podcast, he made a special mention of Djokovic’s fantastic 2023 season. Talking about this, he said, “I mean, look at what he’s done this year. He’s ranked number one in the world. No matter what, he’s won three out of the four majors and got to the finals of the other one. So he’s my year-end number one.”
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Novak Djokovic continues to impress not just the fans but also tennis bigwigs like Paul Annacone. Despite age not being on his side, the Serb will look to maintain his form going into the 2024 season. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs next year.
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