Novak Djokovic spent the last few days training in Monte Carlo – and seems to be starting into the new year with a new team of coaches and new equipment.
The man doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. Novak Djokovic is known to go into the new year with Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek, and in Monte Carlo Craig O’ Shannessy was in the team, the data guru of the ATP, who is always on duty with the players. For example, Dustin Brown when he beat Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon in 2015 with a Dustin Brown percentage of tennis in Wimbledon.
O’ Shannessy posted some photos of the joint performance, and look at it: Djokovic played a blackened racquet in Monte Carlo. In other words, he tests – or works with a prototype that is not yet available on the open market. If you take a closer look, you can see some (unusually long) lead bands, not only at the usual 3 and 9 o’ clock positions. The goal seems clear: to give the racquet a little more mass to produce easier power with less effort. Perhaps a result of the elbow problems that have been bothering the joker for a long time?
However, a change of company doesn’t seem to be possible, the club still looks like a head racquet; however, Djokovic could have switched from his long-time Graphene Touch Speed Pro to the Prestige Pro, as some scene observers say.
Will he continue to play with a prototype at the start of the new season? It’s possible and he wouldn’t be the first: Roger Federer also started with a blackened Wilson racket in 2014, only to run up with the newly designed model in summer.
According to rumours, Djokovic is also supposed to test other shoes: Instead of the long-time Adidas-Treter, he is currently testing shoes from Asics. It will be exciting, the new season!