Novak Djokovic reveals a secret of winning

How does a team’s attitude affect its strongest player?

An elite player stands alone on court, yet is supported by a team. In the interview discussed here, Novak Djokovic talks about the presence and energy he expects from the people around him.

YouNr1 uses this statement to reflect on the interaction between a player and their environment. The question reaches beyond tennis: how do coaches, support staff and teammates show that they share responsibility for a task? And how do you feel their support when competition becomes difficult?

In an interview with Sky DE, 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic revealed one of his winning secrets. Asked whether he was difficult to handle, as his coach had said, he replied that the same applied to his team. At his level, you have to be a little crazy and special, because you need a great deal of mental, physical and emotional energy. Then he revealed the secret: “I want to feel that energy from my team too.” What matters is that the most important people around him also radiate plenty of mental, physical and emotional energy.

This casts a different light on Nick Kyrgios’s behaviour when he frequently asks his team to stand up during a match. People who stand and engage make their energy visible. In our interpretation, that creates a stronger presence beside the court. Naturally, there are many configurations of players and individual team members. Yet Djokovic’s words support the view that the mental and energetic condition of every team member plays a decisive part in success, not only in tennis, but, from YouNr1’s perspective, in every sport.