Aug/14
5
What’s wrong with Djokovic in this video?
14 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
At the Citi Open last week I did a Biofile with a player who showed me this video on his phone, for his funny tennis memory. After viewing it I was asked by the player and his coach what I thought was so affecting Djokovic’s form and coordination.
It’s one of the most bizarre videos you will ever see. The player said Sergei Stakhovskiy was who showed him this video earlier in the season.
So what the heck could have possibly been altering Djokovic’s usually perfectly functioning techniques in this weirdest of weird service games vs. Del Potro? Spiked water? Voodoo? The after-effects from a player party the night before?
Did someone spike Djoker's water with vodka?
Jack · August 6, 2014 at 1:51 am
He was acting.
Bryan · August 6, 2014 at 2:38 am
I remember that and am surprised it didn’t get more buzz since it was outright bizarre. They didn’t ask him hard questions after the match, just let it slide without explanation pretty much. It wasn’t a physical injury because he wasn’t limping. Maybe a lack of gluten blew a few thousand brain cells.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2014 at 8:53 am
It doesn’t really look like the shoes it’s more balance and coordination issues. He seems to lose them in sudden instances which throws him into dysfunction. I don’t buy the shoes explanation, adidas shoes are among the best, and even if he did put on the wrong pair of clay or grass shoes, it would not cause him to look so off.
Reece · August 6, 2014 at 7:24 pm
If I was betting on this match I wouldn’t be impressed. There must be some better explanation than shoes? You are right Scoop no chance it’s shoe related. Shoes don’t make you go on your tip toes and look like you are trying to balance on the edge of a cliff. A bit fishy indeed.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2014 at 10:03 pm
Right Reece, it’s not the shoes. It’s like a warped sense of depth perception or imbalanced equilibrium. It’s mind boggling to see a player perform so strangely. Also adding to the bizarreness is that Djokovic only suffered this lapse in this one game of the match.
Gaurang · August 7, 2014 at 2:46 am
Scoop, if you are hinting towards doping then I would disagree. If it was that, then he would have been behaving like this for the whole match or atleast for a significant portion of the match, not just one game. It is more likely he was distracted for 1 game, and his mind was somewhere else. He had won the first set 6-1, so probably he was just taking it easy and thinking about the vacation he is planning after the tournament 🙂
If it was shoes, alcohol, or dope, it would have affected him more than just one game.
Reece · August 7, 2014 at 8:00 am
You don’t move like that due to distraction. Maybe he and the coaching team had a bet about how bizarre they could be during the match. Once with a player that was having emotional outbursts during matches that if he had one of these he would say “pink flamingos” seems strange but would get him to smile and then he wouldn’t be so angry. I’m not sue why we chose that but I’m sure any spectators would have wondered what on earth was going on.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2014 at 8:30 am
No Gaurang, I’m not hinting at doping. Because of the previous player who were positive testers for PEDs I don’t recall any of them ever looking like Djokovic in this video.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2014 at 8:41 am
Reece, the interesting thing is, this player and his coach asked me my theory for why Djokovic was off like this, then when I offered it, I asked okay what’s your theory? He said they had the answer but wouldn’t divulge it.
bjk · August 7, 2014 at 12:45 pm
He kind of points at his stomach at the end. Could it be some sort of band around his waist protecting a sore spot, and then when he stretches or hits the spot his body reacts to the sharp pain and that’s what we see.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Hmmm maybe bjk. Who knows, this is so odd that any explanation could be valid. Hey, sorry we couldn’t chat longer it was nice to meet you briefly at the Estrella-F Lo match. Next year we’ll do it right and get a beer or hot dog. Thanks again for the nice compliments you said about the site.
bjk · August 7, 2014 at 1:53 pm
Great, look forward to it. Saw some great matches that night, including Sock-Raonic, which is turning into a nice rivalry. Sock really is a blast to watch, wish I’d gotten out there earlier to see him practice.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Sock won the first meeting, right after Raonic won San Jose, then Raonic has ruled but most of the matches have been very close. Good rivalry indeed. I like to see all the young guns play each other, all are hard fought battles. Each one wants to be the kingpin.
Bryan · August 9, 2014 at 4:34 am
Sock will have to break into a consistent top 40 player before anyone can consider him a rival to Raonic. He’s on a hot streak this summer but a couple good weeks in between majors isn’t anything memorable unless it marks the early signs of a breakthrough at the US Open.