Emma Raducanu's former coach steps in to advise Novak Djokovic after big upset

Novak Djokovic was dumped out of Indian Wells in the second round

Emma Raducanu’s former coach has urged Novak Djokovic to improve his serve if he is to return to the top of elite tennis. Dmitry Tursunov believes the 24-time Grand Slam champion must hit more aces and improve his second serve. Djokovic fell to a shock second-round loss against Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells. The 37-year-old struggled with his serve in the 6-2 3-6 6-1 loss. Tursanov, a former world No. 36 who briefly oversaw Raducanu’s career in 2022, insists Djokovic cannot return to his best form if he continues to win only 29 per cent of points on his second serve. "I think everyone understands that Novak is currently far from his best form,” Tursunov told Championat. “That’s why the match didn’t go well. What is striking is that Novak didn’t hit a single ace. Three double faults is not that bad.

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“But the fact that there was no ace on the serve of one of the best tennis players is probably already a small warning sign. 67 per cent of first serves is not so bad, Botic had 71 per cent. The problem is rather in the percentage of winning serves, which is 63 per cent for Novak and 60 per cent for Botic behind the first ball. "That is to say, in this category, Novak was in the lead. But there is a huge gap in the percentage of points won on the second serve – only 29 per cent for Djokovic compared to 71 per cent for Van De Zandschulp. This is not allowed on the men’s circuit. With such an indicator, it is simply impossible to win.” Djokovic confessed that he is some distance from playing his best tennis but blamed the conditions for his exit in California. Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz also made similar complaints.

Dmitry Tursunov once worked with Emma Raducanu

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