Mental strength and tactical acumen are two of Novak Djokovic's top weapons.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Djokovic's shrewd mid-match adjustments have helped him post a 36-10 career record in five-setters.
More: Djokovic Powers Into Wimbledon Week Two
Given Djokovic's success creating solutions on court, you might think he'd oppose the ATP decision to trial off-court coaching starting later this month, but that's not the case.
In an all-Serbian clash on Centre Court today, Djokovic dismissed Miomir Kecmanovic to reach The Championships fourth round for the 14th time.
Afterward, Djokovic offered a nuanced view on the ATP trialing off-court coaching saying while he respects the tradition of players problem-solving on their own, coaching from the stands occurs so frequently now he supports legalizing it.
"I'm kind of divided there in my opinion because I understand the arguments from both sides. There are obviously people that feel like the uniqueness of our sport is that an individual athlete needs to find solutions on the court by himself without getting coached during a match, which I absolutely understand," Djokovic told the media. "That's the way it has been for many years. But at the same time we all know that most of the times, most of the matches, coaching happens.
"To kind of officialize the coaching is something I also understand. Probably lean more towards that because anyway it's happening, so why not just make it a rule or officialize the possibility. Of course, with certain conditions, under certain conditions that you have to coach a player only if he's on your side of the court so you don't pose the hindrance to other player."
The ATP announced it will permit coaching from designated seats at the stands starting from the week of July 11th, 2022 as part of a test that will span the second half of the season.
The trial includes the US Open and will run through to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in November.
The ATP cites two primary reasons for the coaching trial:
1. Consistency across the sport: the WTA already permits coaching from the stands.
2. Enhancing tactical insight for fans with coaches signals and presumably comments included in live broadcasts.
Off-court coaching will be permitted under the following conditions:
-
Coaches must sit in the tournament’s designated coach seats
-
Coaching (verbal and non-verbal) is allowed only if it does not interrupt play or create any hindrance to the opponent
-
Verbal coaching is permitted only when the player is at the same end of the court
-
Non-verbal coaching (hand signals) is permitted at any time
-
Verbal coaching may consist of a few words and/or short phrases (no conversations are permitted)
-
Coaches may not speak to their player when the player leaves the court for any reason
-
Penalties and fines will still apply for abuse or misuse of the above coaching conditions
The top-seeded Serbian, who scored his 24th consecutive grass-court victory to tie Rod Laver for third among longest men's lawn winning streaks in the Open Era, said while permitting coach can be entertaining for fans, he also believes some conversations between coach and player should be confidential.
"Of course, from that perspective, someone watching as a fan, it's quite interesting and entertaining," Djokovic said. "At the same time not that great for discretion or privacy of that conversation. Of course, somebody can hear what you're talking about on the TV, and then that somebody can send messages to opposing coach and coaching team.
"Of course, that's a bit tricky. I do feel like certain professional information that is exchanged should probably stay private between a coach and a player. I guess we'll wait and see where that balance is because it's going to be introduced for the first time in our sport on the men's side. So let's see how it goes."
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport