Cape Town - World No 1 Novak Djokovic doesn’t just hit balls deep on the court, he also goes deep in to the spiritual realm, as revealed by Shortlist. 

The Serb has been in phenomenal form the past six months, turning around an injury-affected 2017 where he finished the year ranked 12th.

But a superlative run starting in June saw Djokovic reach seven finals, win four titles - including back to back grand slams - and finish the year firmly at the top of men’s tennis. 

The press speculated much about the sudden turn in form, attributing Djokovic’s success to a new diet, a patched up home life and a fresh coaching team. 

But one thing that was perhaps overlooked was the spiritual side of things, to which the thoughtful Djokovic is undoubtedly receptive. 

In a recent profile with Shortlist, the 14-time grand slam winner was being interviewed about his role in a documentary series about the power of human potential, entitled Transcendance: Live Life Beyond the Ordinary. 

As such, Djokovic went deep. 

“I believe that it is our mission to reach a higher frequency through self-care by exploring and respecting our own avatar, our body and, by doing that, raising the vibration of the planet,” said the 31-year-old. 

"If you have no idea what he is talking about, then he is talking to you. We need to understand that we are connected on more levels than only on the physical. “We are connected with each other, with nature, with Earth, with the universe… in an energetically, higher vibrational sense. However you want to comprehend it, I feel like there is a higher order that created all this and all of us and we just have help that we are receiving.

 “We have the power to programme our subconscious. To me, (the word transcendence) is about transcending from a kind of a lower physical vibration to a higher vibration of understanding who we really are.” 

Tennis ace or spiritual guru? We’re sure his 2019 results will help you decide.