A lot has been made about Novak Djokovic’s improved second serve this month but Roger Federer was not convinced by the hype following his Australian Open semi-final defeat to the Serbian.
World No 3 Federer battled with a groin injury but eventually suffered a straight-sets loss to crash out of the tournament.
Djokovic won all six matches as his country lifted the inaugural ATP Cup earlier this month and he has carried that momentum into the Australian Open storming through his draw to reach the final.
Goran Ivanisevic has been credited with improving Djokovic’s second serve over the off-season which is believed to be the reason for his improved form.
But Federer reckons there are other factors in play rather than just working on one technique.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know,” Federer said. “I’ve played Novak on some days obviously also when he’s very tough.
“I don’t know if he was… I’m not here to talk, to be honest.
“But, yeah, I heard that he was hitting big on the second serve this tournament. But then again, you know, that just takes guts to do that.
“His first-serve speed, it’s hard for me. Tough measuring stick, to be honest.
“But yes, I mean, he has definitely had a bit of ups and downs throughout his career with his serve. Right now it looks very good.
“He’s a great, great player. We know that. He makes you hit balls. He serves well, he returns well, he moves well. He’s mentally very tough. There’s so many things that can cover a problem, if there were one.
“Maybe there’s nerves, too. I’m sure maybe he was feeling a little bit uncomfortable in the beginning, but he was able to find a way there.
“So like I said, I did believe there was something that could be done today, and also must have felt like at least it was probably not going to get worse. If it did, this would have been my first retirement today.
“We did talk about it with the team, how bad is it allowed to feel and all that stuff. But it never went there, so that’s good. But you’re playing careful, obviously.”
