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LONDON -- John Isner summed it up perfectly: "He's No. 1 and No. 2 and No. 3. He's the best returner I've ever faced, for sure." Isner was talking about Novak Djokovic, in case there was any doubt. The mantle of the world's best returner passed from Jimmy Connors in the 1970s and 1980s to Andre Agassi in the 1990s and early 2000s. But in recent years, Djokovic has made the return an art form. Time and again, he finds a way to not just get the ball back into court but also put himself in position to win the point. At the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday in London, Djokovic won a third of the points on which Isner, arguably the best server in the sport, thundered down his first deliveries. When he had a second serve to look at, Djokovic won a whopping 60 percent of points. Those are mind-boggling numbers. Then on Wednesday, in his 6-4, 6-1 win against Alexander Zverev, Djokovic won 33 percent of points on his opponent's first serve and was even more effective on second serve, winning 65 percent. Is serving successfully to Djokovic the toughest thing to do in tennis? Just ask the other players. "It's not a nice process because I know if I don't serve really, really good against him, the ball is in the rally 50-50," Dominic Thiem, one of the other seven players at the season-ending event, told ESPN.com. "If you are not on the offense after the serve, you have only a little chance to win the point, and that's what puts huge pressure on everybody. The serve has to be placed perfectly, and sometimes even the perfectly placed serves he gets back amazingly." Djokovic might not be quite as aggressive a returner as Connors or Agassi -- he rarely lashes clean winners -- but his accuracy is second to none. Depth, not sheer power, is Djokovic's silent weapon. Defining "deep" as landing over an imaginary line halfway between his opponent's service line and baseline, Djokovic pushes back his opponents. According to the ATP's Serve and Return Tracker, Djokovic returns his opponent's first serve into that section of the court just over 25 percent of the time. On the second serve, it's 28.68 percent.  It's easy to see why he is ranked No. 1 in career ATP return stats, which amalgamate four stats: percentage of points won on opponent's first serve, percentage of points won on opponent's second serve, return games and break points converted. "He doesn't take any risk," said Thiem, who is 0-2 in these championships so far. "First serve, sometimes he can miss, but second serve he will put it -- no matter what you do -- half a meter from the baseline, and he's already in advantage in the point." Even the very best servers are on the defensive. "It can be daunting," Kevin Anderson told ESPN.com. "You know a lot of returns are going to come back in play, and that's where you rely on other parts of your game. It's always a big challenge. He's one of the best returners if not the best returner of all time." "It's just the way he's able to neutralize the serve so often," Anderson, who regularly hits more than 130 mph on his serve, continued. "Watching him play John was a great example. One of the best serves of all time, and Novak did an unbelievable job in getting balls back in play." When he does land the ball "deep" on his opponent's first serve, Djokovic wins 57.11 percent of points. On second serves, Djokovic wins 59.5 percent. Maybe the Next Gen players, those with no scar tissue from years of being beaten by Djokovic, will one day find a way through his defense. "If he hits a really deep return, it's difficult to attack," Russia's Karen Khachanov told ESPN.com. "Normally when you serve, you are in attacking position, but he makes the transition from defense to attack when he returns deep. That's the best thing about him. "But you have to focus the same, not look at it that it is Novak is on the other side, but think where you want to serve, focus on your spots, not worry that it's Novak." Not worry about Djokovic and that return? Good luck.
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