Boris Becker - First Year Report Card

When Novak Djokovic appointed Boris Becker as his coach a year ago, most people were surprised and many thought it would be a mistake.
One year later, Djokovic has won Wimbledon, 4 Masters titles,  the WTF and is number 1, so it’s safe to conclude that Becker has not wrecked the Djokovic game.
But how much of this is due to Becker and how much is due to Djokovic being a top player who would probably challenge for titles even if he was coached by a dead dog? What did Becker add?
Here’s my take on Becker’s contribution in his first year of coaching:

Mental Strength
The main reason for hiring Becker was that Djokovic wanted someone who had won slams in his team, someone who knew the pressure he was facing and would help him deal with it.
This is a tough one to judge. The Australian Open was disappointing but that was right at the start of the relationship. The attempts to win Roland Garros and USO both ended in a whimper but both were scorching hot days and Novak always struggles under those conditions.
So three out of four slams do nothing to show Becker adding value but there are extenuating circumstances that prevent us indicting him.
Wimbledon is the biggest claim to helping with mental strength. Novak steeled himself in that 5th set in a way that he has not done for some time. But why did he have to steel himself? A collapse at the end of the 4th.
And here’s an interesting fact that is often overlooked: 6 out of 7 of Novak’s titles this year came when Marian Vajda was there. Wimbledon is the only title won with just Boris.
Becker’s Grade: B-

Net Play
Novak’s net play has been gradually improving since 2012 but it has improved a lot this year. He doesn’t have soft hands and will never be a natural at the net but he is at least now effective there. It really seems to have come together since USO and his timing and transition to the net have improved vastly.
Becker’s Grade: A-

Serve
In my opinion, the biggest improvement in Novak’s game is the serve. Coming into London, Novak’s first serve % for the season was 67%, winning 75% of those points. In London,  he seemed to be the only player producing decent first serve numbers. His variety and placement have improved hugely.
This is something Becker is rumoured to have been working on from early in the partnership and he deserves credit for the improvement.
Becker’s Grade: A

Focus / Concentration
Well, it’s Djokovic. There are limits to how good this will ever be but I have been amazed at the number of silly losses of serve this year. There have been many occasions when the match is won, an opponent has not been able to lay a finger on him but Novak fails to serve out at the first attempt. The best of example of this was in China. Novak had mauled Berdych from the start and not faced a single break point. He served for a double bagel... and lost his serve.
The flipside of this is that when a game is tight, his focus has been very good. Coupled with his improved serve, he’s been able to close out tight games effectively even though he’s fumbling the ones when he is well ahead.
Overall, I see improvement here.
Becker’s Grade: B+

Overall Grade: B+

Its been a pretty good year. I'd say Beckers report card indeed scores most highly for giving Novak a much more assured net play, both in volley and in approach, hes no longer hesitant to do soo when its needed.

The rest of Novaks game is pretty rock anyway, but Becker has gotten Novak through a year or marriage and a baby with Wimbledon and the WTF under his belt. Don't fix what isnt broken I guess and this seems to work.

Very good post Bruce.

It is more nuanced than just saying, "Novak's wimby win was down to Becker, aka successful relationship."

Did people expect another 2011, or the boost Murray got when he hired Lendl?
Until I see Djoko beat Rafa at a Slam again, I am not convinced that this can be solely attributed or extensively attributed towards Becker.
Like you say, Djoko did his best to let Feds back into the match when he should have won it in 4.
He got over the line but was that more down to him or Becker?

Yeah, there are still huge issues with the mental focus and toughness aspect. Although the guy is playing great tennis in the second half of the season so maybe there has been some improvement of late.

Very difficult to grade, but I'd put my hand up, and say it's gone better than I predicted. Thing is, Djokovic's season is a near mirror image of last, and the one before that. Maybe he can't really extract any more out of himself (of course, winning four masters, a slam, and Ye#1 is already a good deal extracted). Just don't know, how much is really down to Boris. Maybe none, maybe all...

Becker, maybe gave Djoko just some mind reassurance when Vajda was not there.

Don't think he has improved Djokos game much, maybe a little better Net play, but even that is far from quality.

But anyway this was not a Lendl-Murray sort, Djoko has been kicking ass for last 3 years.

HMM a bit generous with your marks there.

Good comments above.

Defining what is attributable solely to Becker is, of course, impossible. In making my judgements, I've compared what I think Djokovic hoped to achieve in hiring Becker with what has actually happened.

In those terms, I see it as a successful appointment but with some caveats.

Jahu - my approach was that if Novak simply maintained the previous level, I'd give Becker a grade C. I've seen enough improvement to get him up to a B+, not enough to move him into the As.

Agree, it's hard to qualify exactly Becker's input or success.

B from me

To be fair, Novak should have cleaned up at the slams this year. The Oz and US Opens got away from him in inexplicable fashion. With his two main rivals for slams over the last couple of years having been well short of their normal levels, it should have been a multi-slam year. That said, I think Becker has done a decent job. B grade for me.

Wimbledon win, numero uno (and likely to be top for a while) and also, at the tail end of the year, playing some of his best-ever tennis. I'd say BB has done a good job with Nole.
  Djoko has got IW and Miami to defend but I'd expect him to gain points before that at the AO. I think he could be number one throughout 2015.

To me, Boris did nothing for Nole. Nole had a good year; but he also had a good year in 2013, and in 2012, and an even better one in 2011.

What did Nole do that he would be so strikingly different from what you expect him to do? He won Wimbledon, but you would expect him to win at least one slam, and he did not do better than that.

His slam record the last three years is (within each year sorted from best result to worst):

2014 W/F/SF/QF
2013 W/F/F/SF
2012 W/F/F/SF

So, 2012 and 2013 identical, and 2014 pretty close too - a touch worse in fact.

His YE ranking points were:

2014 11,510
2013 12,260
2012 12,920

Again, not that much of a difference, but - if anything - a gradual downward slide.

Yes, he finished the year at #1 instead of last tear's #2, but that had more to do with Rafa being unable to repeat his 2013 than with Nole getting better.

That said, I have to admit that when Nole announced Boris as his new coach, I thought it would be unmitigated disaster.  So, if I now think that Boris did exactly zilch for Nole, it is still well above what I expected when they started together.

Djokovic got married, had a child. There is no way Becker could have altered the course of Djokovic's destiny. It would be good to see how 2015 works. I expect Djokovic to get 2 more slams in 2015. RG 2015 is very good candidate for one of the two. USO 2015 would be the other, IMHO.

Yes, it will be interesting to see if he can win more than one slam in 2015.  He might do it but I do not think he will find it easy to do.  I would give him less than 50% chance of getting two or more slams.

Rafa will likely be a better contender than this year, Andy maybe also, plus some of the younger guys too, especially as all three of them are starting to age - they are getting close to the age when players start slipping.

Summerblues, I do agree with you that 2014 was really no better results-wise than 2012 or 2013.

For me though, Becker has added to the Djokovic game technically. The serve and, especially in the last couple of months, his transition to the net are so much better. I think the 2014 version of Djokovic is a better player than the 2011 version. What he hasn't had is the relentless confidence that that powered 2011.

The black mark against Becker is that, Wimbledon notwithstanding, I don't think Djokovic has performed better in the big moments at the slams. The way he faded away at RG and USO was so frustrating. And getting that extra couple of % in the big moments was supposedly the main reason for choosing as ex-great player as a coach.

2015 will be the chance to make a better judgement. Djokovic is happy in his personal life, he's fit and he's #1. If that doesn't translate into success at the slams, then I'd begin to question the value that Becker is able to add.

Laverfan - "I expect Djokovic to get 2 more slams in 2015. RG 2015 is very good candidate for one of the two."

I just cannot see anyone winning the French while Rafa's around. I've said before that even if someone cut one of Rafa's legs off he would probably win the French. Cut both legs off and he might only make the semis.

sirfredperry wrote: Laverfan - "I expect Djokovic to get 2 more slams in 2015. RG 2015 is very good candidate for one of the two."

I just cannot see anyone winning the French while Rafa's around. I've said before that even if someone cut one of Rafa's legs off he would probably win the French. Cut both legs off and he might only make the semis.

While I always place Rafa as favourite at RG, I can see Djokovic beating him there. I don't expect it but I wouldn't consider it a surprise result

He has been within striking distance for the last two years. Rafa's victories, I believe, came down to mental toughness, focus and resilience. The match up of their respective games was, and is, close.

Rafa is a good marker for progress in 2015. If Novak can beat him in slams again, I'll consider it progress.

Hmmmmmm.

The role and influence of Becker can't be under-estimated. Simply who is to say that Djokovic without Becker would've won Wimbledon? We all lauded Lendl's influence on Andy and yet when Nole has a good year we question what exactly Becker is doing?

Coaches like Lendl/Becker/Edberg/Chang/Ivanisevic/Ljubicic are not there to work on or iron out technical issues with players or their fitness. They are there for clutch tournaments/matches. To give their players a mental cutting edge. Yes it could be argued that Federer and Djokovic are proven winners, but that can't always protect them from complancency.

I am sure Becker added something between Djokovic's ears. The one thing about Djokovic in 2014 is that he has been a better player all year round.

If Becker wasn't adding anything, Nole for me isn't the type to comfort himself in hangers on. I wouldn't pay millions just for Becker's company.

Well I would have to drop his grade for fathering Jelena's child....Come on we know his reputation - surely the timing is not coincidental......