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Djokovic: Schedules matter a lot


 

Originally published on: 17/07/12 00:00

Although the men’s season will finish a fortnight earlier this year, with the Davis Cup final held in the middle of November, Djokovic welcomes the suggestion that the schedule will be trimmed even more in the future.

“Schedules matter a lot, so it’s good to see there have been talks about the schedule changing in 2014,” the world No.2 said. “We can have something similar to what the WTA have – around two months for an off-season. That would be great.

“It’s so competitive [at the moment]. There are a lot of commitment events and playing at the top level week after week against your biggest rivals isn’t a piece of cake.  You have to be 100 per cent committed and dedicate your full attention to your body, your preparations and your recovery in order to play like [Rafa Nadal and I] played for almost six hours in Australia. We can’t say that is where tennis is going, that we will always play for that long, but we have longer rallies, less serve-and-volley. Maybe some variety would be better so there is less time spent on the court.”

He added: “There has been a lot of talk about where tennis will go from here. It’s become so physical, so many rallies. Technology has advanced so much, what is the next step? It’s interesting to talk about it. We don’t know what to predict, but there are talks about making the tennis balls smaller so there can be shorter points, which will release the pressure from a physical point of view.”

Djokovic welcomed the fact that more hard courts are being laid with a softer layer on the top. “The cushion on the top of the surface gives our knees and our joints a little bit less stress,” he said. “People are always trying to find a better solution to make sure the sport is good and has a good future.”

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.