0 NOVAK DJOKOVIC SERVE
1. For many club players, the toss is the biggest challenge on a kick serve. It must be to your left (if you are righthanded, like Djokovic) and slightly farther back than it is on a flat serve, so you can brush up on the ball to create topspin. Djokovic extends his tossing arm fully, keeps his eyes on the ball, and relaxes his knees. I also like his grip, a bevel turn to the left of the Continental so it’s easier to impart spin (for more on grips, go to TENNIS.com/grips). Another note: Djokovic’s hitting arm lags behind his tossing arm. I wouldn’t recommend this technique for beginners. Club players will have more success if they bring their hitting and tossing arms up together.
4. Like all great servers, Djokovic drops his racquet to the point where the top of the frame points at the ground (you can see it just below his left arm). His hitting elbow points up as the ball comes into view, slightly in front of him and to the left of his hitting shoulder. His feet are off the ground and his energy is directed up and forward, which will allow him to brush up the back of the ball and propel it into the court with pace.
5. When you hit a kick serve, your racquet must brush up and over the ball from the 8 o’clock position to the 2 o’clock position (for lefties, it’s 4 o’clock to 10 o’clock). This photo shows Djokovic right after contact, and you can trace the upward arc of his swing path. His hitting shoulder and arm, which started out low in the second picture, are now fully extended, and his shoulders have rotated almost 180 degrees.
6. Djokovic’s momentum carries him well inside the court. His back leg extends outward for balance, while his chest is parallel to the ground. The the most important thing to learn from this sequence is that hitting a kick serve doesn’t just require brushing up on the ball. You must hit out, too. That’s what makes Djokovic’s kicker one of the best in the game.