Novak Djokovic Tennis

Novak ahead of US Open 2009

2009-08-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Novak vs. Roger, Cincinnati August 2009

Novak Djokovic Photos

2009-08-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic's US Open Part Of The Season

2008-08-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since the last post here at Novak's fan blog, now it's time to look back on Novak's progress in the last 4 months. Novak's career was in co-relationship with a group of youngsters from Belgrade Serbia who took the world of tennis by surprised to come from a small country with not great tennis tradition.

Other youngsters from that group include WTA tennis players Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. They were like a group of runners constantly changing leads through the course of the race at the start of their pro tennis careers in chase to World #1 position, as one of them first broke out into the Top 100, other 2 would follow, then into the Top 20, Top 10...

At the time of being, the last Grand Slam of the season, US Open, is underway. Currently Ana Ivanovic is WTA World #1 and Jelena Jankovic WTA World #2 with Ana and Jelena changing places at the top of WTA rankings since Wimbledon, while Novak remained where he was this time last year ranked ATP #3.

Novak didn't follow Ana's and Jelena's progress up the rankings now being so close to #1 position. After a dream start of the season when Novak won first career Grand Slam title, followed by the title at the season's first Masters Series tournament, Novak did not improve in his play and up the rankings.

Having a career of constant progress, as if Novak was 'stagnating' for the past 5 months. We should never forget Novak from his junior and first pro career days, that gutsy player who had only one goal in mind, to overthrow Roger Federer, at the time ATP #1 and by some possible the best player in tennis history.

Last year was awesome for Novak, the beginning of this year promised fulfillment of ultimate tennis dreams, it seemed nothing could stop Novak on the way to ATP #1. Then came a small party time in Los Angeles celebrating the Indian Wells title and a huge shock few days later at Master Series Miami, loss in first match against a player ranked outside of Top #100, as Novak said prior to the start of the match he knew little about his opponent.

Novak slipped in Miami when no one saw it coming, all eyes were on how fast Novak could reach Roger up in the rankings, could it happen even before Roland Gaross, by Wimbledon, US Open or at least by the time of season's finale at Masters Series Cup in Shanghai.

After Miami, Novak had decent results according to ATP #3 reputation, though not spectacular results. Novak featured in Quarterfinals/Semifinals/Finals of Masters Series Tournaments, Semifinal of Roland Gaross, only R64 in Wimbledon, Bronze medal at the Olympics. Novak did not won anything which is a virtue of a champion, he sticked around while Rafael Nadal became new ATP #1.

Success at US Open can still make this season be up to expectations, it would give him a chance to finish the year ahead of Roger Federer at ATP #2 position. Novak has already won $3.5 million in prize money and this will be his most successful season in won prize money, he is currently ranked #2 in ATP Race...

Prior to the beginning of the season, many agreed that Australian Open and Wimbledon titles were reserved for Roger, Roland Gaross for Rafael and US Open for Novak. Novak doesn't seem like a steaming machine entering US Open with months of no won title, but it makes US Open title be that greater challenge.

Today Novak will play in Round 3 against a player ranked outside of Top 100, there were no greater problems for Novak to conduct wins in Round 1 and 2, he is in pretty decent form. Novak can use the opportunity of Roger not playing the perfect tennis from last seasons.

Rafael has had fantastic season behind him, 2 Grand Slams won, including Olympic Gold 10 days ago, and may not have enough fire in him needed to win US Open, as much as Rafael has improved his play on fast surfaces, US Open's hard court suits Novak the best.

We hope for Novak to be in good health (had smaller problem twisting his ankle in round 1) and win the US Open. Ana and Jelena have already tasted the flavour of being World #1, now it's on Novak to match their achievement, if not by the end of this year than maybe in the fist part of the 2009 season, the US Open title is the best place from where to start that quest.

I Take A Pause, Novak Continues To ATP World #1

2008-04-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

Due to a number of reasons, I won't be writing the blog at usual frequent pace. Through the blogging pause, take a look at video of Novak winning first Grand Slam title with many more to come. I'll be here to post the video of Novak winning his second Grand Slam title somewhere in the near future :)

Novak Djokovic Remains ATP #3

2008-04-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

In this morning's, Monday April 14th, ATP list Novak Djokovic remained at #3 position with 4785 points. Roger Federer is at #1 with 6600 points, Roger Federer at #2 with 5930 points, and Nikolay Davydenko at #4 with 3175.

Novak still leads in the Race with 331 points while Rafael is at #2 with 249 and Nikolay at #3 with 191 points. Novak decided not to participate in Estoril played this week where he won title in 2007. Novak will next be on court in Monte Carlo (21-18 April) played on red clay for the total prize money $2.270.000.

As for the rumor we covered in last post about Maria Sharapova being related to Novak on personal level, it most likely is a false info, I participated in one forum on the Internet and most people there stated that the given pictures of Maria and Novak were taken on March 26th during Sony Ericsson Party (official event).

The only reason I mentioned that rumor is that most news agancies covered it as well, though those kind of rumors where some website would turn things around to drow publicity are not worth everyone's time, as a celebrity Novak will always be a target of rumors.

Novak Djokovic And Maria Sharapova In Doubles Offcourt

2008-04-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

The biggest news after first 3 months of the season seemed to be that Roger Federer has not won anything yet. At the beginning of April, even bigger news, or news of the year, could be... well I'm not the one who is spreading gossip around but since everyone started talking about... rumors say Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova may be a couple.

Swedish site dedicated to tennis (tennistalk.com) published the above picture of Novak and Maria at a party in Miami. Here can be seen video of Maria and Novak leaving the club together on the back seat of Maria's cars while her agent was driving: http://x17video.com/celebrity_video/while_you_were_sleeping/maria_sharipova_at_night.php

This all is just a rumor, since this Novak's fan blog covers everything related to Novak, I covered the story or rumor whatever it is at the moment. Tennistalk.com said more that Novak enjoyed himself at the Opium Garden in Miami on March 28th with Maria and him not leaving the club until very late (later than midnight).

Tennistalk.com goes a step further presuming that Novak's late night partying is the cause of Novak's most shocking defeat ever since he entered Top 10, loss at Miami Open where he was defending champion in the first match against World #122 Kevin Anderson. Tennistalk.com could surely be right about that, no one saw that loss coming especially after Novak won Indian Wells a week earlier.

Tennistalk.com states more: 'It also appeared that he had been drinking alcohol even though we do not have any pictures of it, just our eye-witnesses'. Since there were no pictures or video, we will discard this fact being too much of a speculation.

Being on the subject, let us look back at how Novak - Maria connection started. Novak's impersonations of other players, one of the funniest things inside and outside of the world of sports last year, brought to Novak great popularity with the fans and media, ATP official website calls him 'the entertaining Serb'.

Novak's most successful impersonation was of Maria Sharapova. Maria commentated Novak's impersonation of her with a smile saying if she is to do Novak impersonation it would be a very boring one since all she would do is tap the ball before the serve for infinite period of time (referring to the fact that Novak taps the ball against the ground too many times before serving).

Novak's impersonation of other player, especially of Maria, became so popular that wherever Novak played fans and hosts at the tournament asked him to do the impersonations for everyone's enjoyment.

Maria than said that Novak is offering nothing new and that his constant impersonations of her are becoming boring. Novak also felt he done the impersonations too many times but, like it could have been seen in the video we posted in February, fans and hosts of the tournaments started insisting on Novak to do impersonations to make everyone smile.

Novak had and still has a girlfriend he is with for some time now. Maria, to my knowledge, is single and I don't recall her having a boyfriend in recent year(s). Did Maria started having sympathies towards Novak after his first impersonations of her stays unclear.

Just, remarkable thing happen during US Open in August/September 2007. Maria lost early in Round 3 but did not go home to Florida and stayed in NYC to follow US Open later matches that 'concidently' Novak played and went all the way to the Final.

Not just attending Novak's game, Maria was sitting in the Novak's stuff box seats, along with Novak's family and coaches. Some may say that many celebrities were in the Novak's stuff box seats including one of the most famous American actors Robert De Niro, so no wonder Maria was there too consider Maria is Russian and Novak is Serb, 2 nations closely related.

Amazing was Maria's behavior while sharing the box seats along with Novak's family. Maria, a donghty tennis winning machine on court, seemed like the nicest girl around every mother could wish for her son, her make up and clothing was measurable, she was smiling and shining as if she was enjoying being almost a part of the family.

In the following months nothing happened on Novak - Maria subject, Novak was the same with his girlfriend and Maria single. At Hopman Cup in early January some talks started about Serena Williams having a small crush on Novak (I mean how good impersonator Novak really is, they say you won a half of women's heart by knowing how to make her smile:).

In the Hopman Cup final match USA-Serbia, Serena was all in smiles and at some extent it made me wish to check if Serena has a boyfriend so I could cover that rumor in full. Hopman Cup passed with no breaking stories or rumors to follow.

The sea was still all until March 28 and a party at Opium Club in Miami and today, April 10th, that tennistalk.com published the newest rumor public. At the time of being, Novak is resting and will skip Estoril starting next week while Maria is playing at Amelia Island where she has won today against A. Medina Garrigues and tomorrow will play in the Quarterfinals.

By the way, Novak and Maria are the same age, born in 1987, Maria in April (19th, next Saturday), Novak in May.

Novak Djokovic Presents Monography

2008-04-06T03:11:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic promoted his monography 'My First Grand Slam' on Saturday, April 06, in his home town Belgrade, during that occasion hosted in the French cultural center, he expressed hopes the readers will enjoy reading his first book.

Novak: 'Winning Australian Open in January is the biggest success of my career, fulfillment of the dream. On top of that, I had the prevelage to do it already at the age of 20, I won over many good tennis players, among them the best one (Roger Federer)'.

Novak: 'Even now when I look at this book, I get chills and it brings me back to the central court in Melbourne'. Novak excused himself to the French ambasador for the lack of knowledge of French language: 'Never mind, the time will come for me to work on it as I plan to win Roland Gaross as well'.

The French ambasador Teral said Novak is the picture that Frenchmen have about Serbia - young ,dynamic and with perspective, he added: 'I have two wishes, for Novak to win Roland Gaross and for Serbia to join European Union'.

During the conference, Novak signed his monography for the fans. The book costs 2650 dinars (~30€, $50). The publisher is 'Family Sport' which is partly owned by Novak and where Novak's father Srdjan is the editor.

In the news around ongoing Miami Open, later today, Saturday April 06, Rafael Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko will play for the title in the Final match, Rafael won over Thomas Berdych and Nikolay against Andy Roddick in the Semifinals.

Video: Novak Djokovic Book Presentation April 04 2008

2008-04-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

Video: Novak Djokovic In Kosovska Mitrovica

2008-04-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic Prolongs Sponsorship Deal

2008-04-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic prolonged the sponsorship deal with Telecom Serbia on Friday, April 04, successful cooperation that lasts for 5 years already, and now should boost Novak's aspirations toward the ATP World #1 position.

Novak said: 'It's my great pleasure for our long-lasting cooperation to continue. Telecom is one of the rare companies that backed me up since the beginning of my career. As a top sportsman and perfectionist I want to have the best cooperators around me, that's why I hope my cooperation with Telecom will last for a long time in the future'.

Branko Radujkov, Telecom's general director, said: 'I thank Novak for finding time to promote continuation of our cooperation. Telecom Serbia supports sportsmen not only those on the top, but when they need it too. Telecom recognized a champion in Novak at the very beginning of his career and that's why we are very proud. We'll continue to support him certain he will become World #1 and stay there for a long time'.

Director of mobile phone sector, Vladimir Lucic, presented Novak a 'BlackBerry' and made him the first mt:s user of 'BlackBerry Internet Service', while general director of Serbian Post Service, Goran Cilic, presented a post stamp with Novak on it as a part of 'Olympic Tennis Team of Serbia'.

During this occasion, Novak commentated on the clay season he starts preparing for in 2 days, that he was to start by defending Estoril title but decidated to pass on it: 'Clay is one of the hardest surfaces because it requests a lot of physical effort and you need to give more than your maximum. I have two weeks before Monte Carlo tournament, then come Rome and Hamburg and as a crown of this part of the season Roland Gaross'.

Novak: 'As the most successful (ATP) tennis player in 2008 there are a lot of expectations and preasure, but it's all part of the sport. I'll try to keep constancy of results and to reach first two place in the ATP rankings by the end of the year'.

Asked what it is that Roger Federer has and he does not in order to win two tournaments in a row, Novak said in his manner: 'Nothing! He had a postal stamp, now I have it too.. just kidding, he's 26, I am 20. Even though I'm World #3 and winner of a Grand Slam, I'm still learning. If I continue like that I believe I'll get where I want to be'.

Novak Djokovic Off-court Week

2008-04-04T01:18:00.000-07:00

After canceling participation at Estoril that starts in 10 days, Novak has more time to rest and for off-court activities. Yesterday, Wednesday April 03, Novak visited Kosovo, southern part of Serbia that recently declared independence by non-Serb population.

Along with humanitarian help that Serbs receive living in harsh conditions in Kosovo, Novak gave his spiritual support. Greeted by thousands of people in Kosovska Mitrovica, Novak said: We have once again shown how many of us there are, and that we are fighting. All of my victories are your victories too. You must know that both me and my family will always be with you. I love you'.

Novak: 'This place is really deep, deep within my heart, I will keep returning here always, whenever I can, and I will provide support to the people that need it the most'.

Novak's father was born in Zvecan, town near Kosovska Mitrovica in the north part of Kosovo where majority of remaining Serb population lives now. Novak is a honorary citizen of Zvecan. He recently donated a fully equipped ambulance to the Kosovska Mitrovica health center and is financing the construction of a tennis center in Zvecan.

Novak's yesterday's schedule included addressing citizens in the Sumadija squer in the norther part of Kosovska Mitrovica, an hour later he met supporters in the Zvecan tennis court. On the picture is Novak with young Serbs living in Kosovo dressed in traditional cloths.

Novak will tomorrow, Saturday April 05, promote his monography 'My first Grand Slam' and will be giving autographs in his home town Belgrade around noon time and it's a great opportunity for all Novak's fans to see him in person.

Novak Djokovic Will Not Play In Estoril

2008-04-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Portuguese media announced that Novak will not defend his title in Estoril (Portugal) due to his exhaustion and need to rest. Estoril marks the beginning of clay season, even though Novak is not a 'specialist' for a particular surface (like Roger Federer is for grass and Rafael Nadal for clay), Novak said he prefers clay the least.

The line-up of players participating in Estoril is significant for a €370.000 event, to name the few: Roger Federer, Nikolay Davydenko, Ivo Carlovic... and interestingly for the first time there will be no Spaniards participating in the tournament.

To remind us on Estoril 2007, Novak won the title as a #3 against Richard Gasquet in 3 sets, 7:6(7) 0:6 6:1 after 2 hours and 12 minutes of play. Winner of Estoril will earn 200 ATP points and €74.000 in prize money, finalist 140 ATP points and €43,700, semifinalists 90 ATP points...

In the news around ongoing Miami Open, players that have made it through to the Quarterfinals include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick... while Rafael Nadal is to play against James Blake today, Wednesday April 02, at 2pm local time (EDT, 8pm CET).

Novak Djokovic In As Unpleasant Interview As It Can Be

2008-04-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

After early exit from Miami Open, and two week pause until Estoril (Portugal), Novak took time to visit Gustavo Kuerten's (triple champion of Roland Gaross) fare-well-to-tennis party in Miami, along with Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alberto Costa, Nicolas Lapentti and Magnus Norman. Novak then flew back to Europe and his home town Belgrade.

Today, Wednesday April 02, it has been announced that Belgrade will likely host a WTA Tier II $750.000 tournament in 2009 where Ana Ivanovic (WTA World #2) and Jelena Jankovic (WTA World #3) should participate in. Novak and his family have expressed their wishes to invest $10 million in buying land to build tennis facilities for hosting an ATP tournament in Belgrade. Novak will likely spend time in Belgrade to talk with the city officials on that matter.

Novak has also appeared in the April's addition of 'Mens Vogue' where a reporter visited Novak in Belgrade and interview him. In an extended text that was a combination of an 'amusing' travel journal and a rather unpleasant moments Novak was brought to, the author presented Novak's home country as a country with broken economy devostated with wars where Novak is a nation's 'redeemer'.

Here is what Novak had to say about his popularity: 'People recognize me and I don't want to say bother me but they just come up. It's not really relaxing. All eyes on you'.

Journalist made an unpleasant situation when turning the subject to politics, and related Novak's 'three fingers' salutation after the victories with 'war death squads'.

Novak said: I'm not extremist. Three fingers is our symbol. It's like you have two fingers for peace. Three fingers is for us, for Serbia. That's what all the people throughout the history of this country did, when they are successful and when they want to show where they're from'.

The author then, right after Novak's words, put in parenthesis that what Novak said is not true and, as author states: 'the salute was popularized in the early 1990s by a a nationalism intellectual'. (the real meaning of 3 fingers dates from the year of 1054, and is a Christian sign for Christian Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

The text and choice of questions were as paculiar and surprising as they could have been considering it was for 'Mens Vogue' (fashion/lifestyle magazine!?), the author took time to fly to Belgrade, write a prolonged monologue with only handful words coming back from Novak, the author could have written the text from home and ask Novak those few questions in a 5mins telephone conversation as well.

After Novak won the season's first Master Series tournament in Indian Wells, and saw early exit in Miami after which most commentators, including Novak himself, pointed out he did not take enough time to rest and was physically too exhausted, Novak said he will take more time to rest after Miami.

Though, Novak attended Gustavo's farewell party.. flew back to Europe... tomorrow will take a 400km car trip to the south of his home country that will be covered by all media.. in all, being a World celebrity gives little time for Novak to rest.

Video: Novak Djokovic practice at Miami Open 2008

2008-03-29T06:29:00.001-07:00

Miami Open: 'What Happened' And Interviews

2008-03-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

Aside the great play Kevin Anderson performed we talked about yesterday, analyses partly point to Novak not having freshness and concentration as one of the reasons of his failure in first match at Miami Open.

Novak talking about loss of concentration leading 2:0 in the final set when the time violation warning came (Novak took too much time to tap the ball before serving): 'I didn't focus myself in that moment. Obviously, the time violation and a lot of different things affected on my service game loss. But, you know, that's okay. It's all part of the game'.

'During one long-exchange of shots during last game, my shoe lace was broken. Of course I won't look for excuses for it. Kevin deserved to win. I tried to lift myself after losing first game but it was obvious I had not freshness for it'.

Novak looked back on his physical condition after the exhausting week before in Indian Wells and everything that followed after the winning ceremony: 'Well, I tried to recover, but obviously I was a little bit tired from the start. But it was okay, you know. I could play, but the thing is that I didn't know the way he's playing. It was our first meeting, and I never saw him playing before'.

'He surprised me with the way he was serving. I wasn't moving on my returns good enough, and obviously that resulted in easy service games. He was winning too easy in the first set his service games, and I wasn't aggressive enough. Then when I needed to use my chances in the third set, I made some unforced errors which were really crucial'.

'I made some unforced errors and I was maybe going for too much. Obviously, he's really tall, and with that height you expect him not to move so well. But he obviously has a good coordination. He has a good feel for the ball. So he's a good player'.

Kevin: 'I don't know what to say. I only tried to give myself a chance to win. I kept telling myself I can do and I need to believe in it. Knowing what kind of player Novak is and everything what he accomplished, this is an amazing experience for me. I can compete with the best players in the world. I proved that to myself, regardless if my opponent is in or out of form'.

Novak said he does not consider he was involved in too much off-court activities in between the tournaments to cause him not take enough rest. Novak did not know anything about Kevin prior to the game nor ever saw him play.

Looking for the 'positive' side in it all, Novak said: 'The good thing about this loss is that I can get a bit longer period of preparation and vacation as well'. Novak will now have more than 2 weeks of rest until April 14th and the tournament in Estoril Portugal when clay season officially begins.

Miami Open: Novak Djokovic Lost In First Match

2008-03-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic lost in Round 2 (his first match in the tournament) against Kevin Anderson in 3 sets, 7:6(1) 3:6 6:4. The only way to describe the match is 'ups'!

Kevin, who played 'futures' and 'challengers' just 3 months ago, showed in early stage of the match just how much he improved. He won his service games with easy and gave no chances to Novak for breaks.

The only break point Novak had was at 6:5 and 40:30, unfortunately he did not use the opportunity and the set went to tie-break. Usually this ment 'no problemo' for winning the set for Novak who is known as 'king of the tie-breaks' but this time Novak was himself.

In tie-break Novak won only 1 point, even that 1 point was thanks to Kevin who made a double service fault when leading 1:0.

Second set made the things look like coming to their place after 1:1 and 2:2 Novak made a break for 3:2 lead, then another break in 9th game for 6:3 in 2nd set. Novak had psychological advantage entering the 3rd set, though Kevin still had nothing to lose.

3rd set started ideally for Novak win 2:0 lead. What happened afterwards is a subject to analyses and comments in the upcoming period, Kevin started playing as if in trance and turned things around to have 4:2 lead.

Novak gave his everything, he narrowed the margine to 3:4 and 4:5, but in the last game after being down 15:40, he managed to make it 40:40, but he didn't managed to defend 3 match point.

Kevin, current World #122, made a sensation in Miami by eliminating defending champion and World #3 Novak after 2 hours and 21 minutes of play. Anderson will match up with Igor Andreev in next round, the player Novak always wins against, 'auch'!

Unexpected early exit in Miami will cost Novak to lose almost all 500 ATP points he won in Miami last year as the title winner. This will not make Novak lose World #3 position as he is ahead of World #4 Nikolay Davydenko by more than 2.5000 points but he made a big step back in chase for World #2 Rafael Nadal and World #1 Roger Federer.

After winning first Grand Slam of the season, then first Master Series Tournament played in Indian Wells last week, Novak was praised even by World #1 as real title contender, but now summing the month achievents of playing Master Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, Novak even degressed as he was last year's Indian Wells finalist and did not earn too many ATP points for winning it this year, after debacle in Miami Novak lost a huge number of ATP points.

As I moved through the apartment and heard someone mentioning Jelena Jankovic on TV, I said to my sister that Novak lost in his first match in Miami, she replied 'he must to have been tired'!? :)

Well, this could be one of the reasons. After a long and exhausting 10 days in Indian Wells, and after the Final match, Novak flew to Los Angeles where he attended NBA games, etc, and he didn't seem to give himself much time to rest.

This does not diminish Kevin's great form, from participating in 'futures' and 'challengers' a couple of months ago, he made it to the final of Las Vegas as a qualifier at the beginning of March, achieved career high World #121 position on March 10, now won against World #3 in Miami.

Still, no one saw it coming, not Novak who was probably still in celebration mood after Indian Wells ready to defend his title in Miami, not this fan blog who didn't find it necessary to go through player profiles of Novak's opponent in early Round with the prospect for Novak's win more than likely.

I just went through Official ATP website to see if Kevin ever won against a player from Top 30 but his 'career highlights/bio' is empty, this is probably because he was never Top 100 player.

The best thing of it all, he's older than Novak (Kevin is 22) and you would never guess when Kevin turned pro... in the second part of 2007!? In 3 months of 2008 he will earn at least 5 times more than during his entire career (in 2007 that is). Another interesting fact about Kevin is his height 2 (6'7") making him one of the tallest players in the ATP Tour.

Congratulations to Kevin and we wish him luck against Igor Andreev in Round 3 which would be the biggest success of his career to reach so far away if he is to win that match, Kevin already secured new career highest ranking with Round 2 win against Novak.

We expected to have a lot to write day-to-day about Novak's plays in Miami, today it's one big 'auch' and we will add Novak's interviews in the following days. Once again, auch...

Roger Federer And Bjern Borg Praise Novak Djokovic

2008-03-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

'Once upon a time' world best tennis player Bjern Borg expressed in Spanish sports newspapers 'Marka' his belief that Novak Djokovic will soon overthrow Roger Federer from #1 position: 'It's obvious that Novak will become world #1 soon'.

Winner of 11 Grand Slams added that Novak is not the only one contending for the world #1 position: 'When you see him play, you see he shines out great open-heartiness and huger for victories', said Bjern who ended his career at the age of 28.

Bjern said that imititations that Novak makes are of equal quality to Novak's good tennis play, added: 'I wouldn't mind Novak imitate me one day as well'.

And this is what the World #1 himself, Roger Federer, had to say in interview given in Miami this week: 'I know that Novak wants my throne and for now he is on his best way, but I am still not for „old iron“. I’ll fight despite illness that is bothering me in my quest to stay at the throne as long as possible.

Roger: 'I am surprised just how much Djokovic has gotten serious on court. He is playing phenomenally; and that he is at the moment the best in the world, is indicated with big tournaments, where he en-route beat Nadal at Montreal and Indian Wells, and myself at Montreal and Melbourne'.

Roger: 'Djokovic has all to become my successor, but I also have ambitions to remain no. 1, and there many other tennis players who also want my spot. In any case, I sincerely congratulate Novak on his successes, and I am eagerly looking forward to our next meeting so I could get my revenge (sporting meaning)'.

Video: Novak Djokovic Attends LA Lakers NBA Game

2008-03-26T02:06:00.000-07:00

Miami Open: Novak Djokovic Against Canas, Nadal Again

2008-03-26T01:47:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic is #3 seed in Miami, just like last week in Indian Wells, as well he will possibly match up with Guillermo Canas and Rafael Nadal the same as in Indian Wells.

Novak will be free in Round 1, in Round 2 he awaits the winner of Augustin Callieri vs. Qualifier. In Round 3, Novak could meet Igor Andreev (winner of comeback of the year in the 2007 ATP Awards held yesteday in Miami), then most likely in Round 4 await him Guillermo Canas or Ferdando Gonzales.

In possible Quarterfinal match, Novak can play against Richard Gasquet. Then in the Semifinals, he could play against Rafael Nadal (in Rafael's part of the draw three are players such as James Blake, David Nalbandian, Carlos Moya, Ivan Ljubicic, Radek Stepanek...).

Novak left Indian Wells yesterday, Tuesday March 25th, two days after winning the tournament, just couple of hours after he won the title, Novak flew to Los Angeles in a private jet to watch LA Lakers NBA match where he met NBA's leading star Kobe Bryant; video clip with Novak attending the LA Lakers game you can see in blog's next post.

Novak will not be on court in a couple of days more, there is some pressure on him as a defending champion in Miami with a lot of ATP points to defend, some of that pressure Novak took off after winning Indian Wells prior to coming to the 'fifth' Grand Slam as some call Miami Open tournament.

Video: Novak Djokovic Indian Wells 2008 Final

2008-03-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic: I'm Still Not The Best Player

2008-03-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic started the year in best possible way, winning the two biggest tournaments and still rejects to admit that he is in better form than any other player at the moment.

World #3 won Grand Slam in January, passed most of February due to health problems and won 9th ATP title last week at the Master Series Tournament in Indian Wells. Novak's words:

'This is a great result, obviously things all falling into their places. I begin to believe in myself more than I did last year. When someone starts winning the trophies, he proves foremost to himself then to other that he has the quality to be on top. It's just a thing of mental capabilities and mental toughness. I worked on it for teh past 2 year and I think I achieved it with the experience.

'I know it needs a lot of hard work to survive on top and for such great achievements, and that's what I'm doing. I realize people started talking about me and looking at me as the best player in the world. Looking at the results I think I deserve that, but I don't want to think in that direction, because it would produce additional pressure. There's already much pressure and expectation on my backs'.

'Still, I'm getting closer to World #2 position, and people already talk about 3, not 2 tennis players on the top. That's encouraging and great for me. But I still don't think about myself as the best player in the world'.

Novak will now participate in Miami Open, another Masters Series tournament, which he happened to win last year. Novak says:

'I'm happy there are so many tournaments on this kind of surface (hard) which fits me the most. Coming from Indian Wells as a winner will help me play easier'. Novak will be free in Round 1 and we won't see him on court for a couple of days more.

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Wins The Title

2008-03-24T03:55:00.001-07:00

Novak Djokovic has won the Indian Wells title winning over Mardy Fish in the Final in 3 sets, 6:2 7:5 6:3. With Ana Ivanovic (Novak's compatriot) winning Indian Wells title in women's competition, out of fun some have referred to Indian Wells as Serbian Wells.

Novak won 9th ATP title and proved his the most dominant player this season. After winning the first Grand Slam of the season, Novak dominated in the season's first Masters Series tournament. In front of 18.000 spectators, Novak won first set with 6:2.

In 2nd Novak won 2 break games and led 4:2 and it seemed it will be a fast finish of the match with Novak on serve. Though, Mardy made the match more interesting equalling to 5:5 in games, Mardy won a break and after a powerful service game won the set 5:7 to become the only player this year in Indian Wells who won a set against Novak.

3rd set started with 40:0 for Mardy on Novak's serve, then Novak made 3 aces for 40:40, 1 service winner, and a point for 1:0 lead in games. In the following games Mardy (Fish) was caught up in Novak's net and didn't manage to get out. Soon it was 3:0 for Novak, 4:1, 5:2, 6:3.

Novak talked about the opening game of 3rd set: 'That was a crucial moment and it was the turning point in the whole match, if I didn't come up with the three aces, it could go either way'.

Novak's thought about his season up to now: 'It's been a dream start, of course. Before I started playing this season, I said that my two goals is to be consistent with the results, I reach the Masters and hopefully win one Grand Slam. I did all that in very, very small amount of time'.

Novak: 'But again, I don't want to stop here, even though I've been playing fantastic, and I'm lucky enough to have a lot of important tournaments on this surface, which suits me the best, and I just try. I'll try to keep going in Miami, and I'm defending champion there. But coming up from Indian Wells as tournament winner, it's much easier to play'.

Mardy: 'It would be really nice to take this momentum and take this confidence into next week, because next week is just as big of a week for me. I didn't play last year. I think I put myself in a nice position now around 40 in the world with not a match to defend until August 19th, which I checked'.

Novak won additional 150 ATP points as he played in the Final last year (that earned him 350 ATP points) and is now a step closer to the leading duo, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Title brought Novak $550.000 in prize money, while Mardy won $277.000 in prize money also emense 350 ATP points which rocketed him from previous World #98 position to #40 position in this morning's, Monday March 23rd, ATP rankings.

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Beats Rafael Nadal To Rach The Final

2008-03-23T02:40:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic overcame last year's Indian Wells title winner Rafael Nadal in straigth sets, 6:3 6:2. It was yet another Novak's powerful perfomance, yet another straigth sets sets win.. could he be any better? :)

On a sunny Californian day, Novak fully controled the match, he's services were unbeatable and he constantly put pressure on Rafael's service points, it all eventually led to almost easy win in 87 minutes of play in front of 15.000 spectators in the world's second largest tennis stadium.

Key moment in first set happened at 4:3 when Novak made a break for a 5:3, and won the set by keeping his serve. In pause between two sets, Rafael asked for medical help suffering problems with leg thumb.

Beginning of second set, Rafael seemed to have the power to bounce back and took 2:1 lead and was close to make a break, though he did not and this seemed to be the crucial moment of the match, he did not win any more games to end the set 6:2 in Novak's favor.

This is what Novak had to say about the match: 'I had some really important wins last year, which proved and made me believe that I can be one of the best players in the world and I have enough quality for that'.

Rafael: 'I had very tough matches in the rounds before, very tight matches. You have to be 100%. He played less hours than me on court, easier matches, and he play better than me, so [I could] not do a thing'.

After the match, Novak and Rafael are 3:6 in head-to-head duels. Novak is heading full forward towards World #2 position. Since he played in last year's Indian Wells Final as well and won Miami tournament that starts week after Indian Wells, he will not gain too many new ATP points to overtake Rafael from #2 or Roger Federer from #1 position until the end of this month but everyone agrees it can easily happen in a April or May before Roland Gaross starts.

Reaching the Indian Wells Final, Novak has earned $277.500 in prize money and defended 350 ATP points. If he wins the tournament he will earn additional 150 points and close the gap with Rafael in ATP rankings who lost 275 points failing to qualify in the Final of the tournament he won last year.

Novak's convincing win against Rafael shows how much he has improved from last season when he achieved biggest successes of his career up to then to reach Indian Wells Final and enter ATP Top 10 for the first time in his career. So Novak has won the first Grand Slam of this season, now he plays in the final of first Master Series Tournament of the season after all 2:0 wins.

Novak will play against Mardy Fish who managed to beat no other than Roger Federer in two sets, 6:3 6:2, in only 1 hour and 3 minutes of play. Mardy won 90% of points afte good first serve and 70% on second serve having 8 aces.

Mardy is World #98 and the biggest surprise of the tournament, he will now fight for emense 500 ATP points for 10s of places improvement in the new ATP rankings.

Novak and Mardy played only once in a match that Novak won at the US Open two years ago. Here are Novak's thoughts on the upcoming match against Mardy: 'He's a really difficult opponent to play against. He’s obviously playing on top of his shape in this tournament, has nothing to lose'. Match will start around 2pm local time.

Message to Novak: win Master Series tournament, it's that easy for you :)

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Wins Again In Straigth Sets

2008-03-21T02:20:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic is in the Indian Wells Semifinals after a win over Stanislas Wawrinka in two sets, 7:6 6:2, after more than 2 hours of play. Novak is now a step away from the Final he played in last year.

At this point of the Masters Series tournament, one must look back on all what Novak has achieved in the last year/year and a half, success after success, breaking records, moving fast forward in ATP rankings, first Tier I title, Grand Slam title..

Now Novak is proving reputation of a Top 3 player, he cruised into the Indian Wells Semifinals in a way that look almost sub-real with all straigth sets wins playing better and better.

As a matter of fact, Novak has progressed so much and established himself so high in the world of tennis that now reporters refer to Novak's hard match even when he wins in straigth sets. Novak is becoming recognizes by the media that he matured for World #1 position.

Only ~18 months ago Novak threatened to Roger Federer he will throw him off his throne and Roger responded that there are many players who want that and Novak should first make it into the Top 20.

Well Novak is now there, plus he's the winner of Grand Slam title after defeating Roger in the Semifinals, now he is a slight favorite to win the Indian Wells Semifinal match against World #2 Rafael Nadal.

Novak's first set againt Stanislas was as exciting as Novak allowed any player in Indian Wells to make it. Stanislas had a break game lead at 6:5 when Novak made a break and 'the king of tie-breaks' once again showed his specialty to win the set 7:6.

First game of second set saw Stanislas' good resistence and had lasted 17 minutes with Novak using 5th break point. After losing service game and down 0:1, Stanislas seemed too tired to equal Novak's play.

Novak's impression of the match: 'It's normal to have some difficult stages in the tournament and sets and matches. This was the one. This was really a test for me. I'm happy to win such a difficult match. We played over two hours only two sets, the time (shows) that we had such long rallies. But in the end I won, and that's what matters'.

Stanislas' impressions: 'When you play the important points, he knows exactly how to play and he does it well. I take a lot of positive things from the match. I was close to winning the first set, and then I was playing very well. So I'm happy with my game and with this tournament'. This was Stanislas' first career ATP Master Series Quarterfinal.

Novak's Semifinal match against Rafael will be on schedule tomorrow, March 22nd, not before 1pm local time. Today's Quarterfinal matches include Roger vs. Tommy (Hass) and David Nalbandian vs. Mardy Fish.

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Can't Slow Down

2008-03-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic made yet another brilliant performance in Indian Wells, it was the 'same old' in Round 4, straight sets win in a short match, this time it was againt Guillermo Canas 6:2 6:3 in 80 minutes of play.

Djokovic was controling the match from its very tart. Guillermo, World #16, was never in lead and this is what Novak had to say after the match: 'Only top players progress in play a match after match, I think I got that characteristic too'.

Novak added: 'We all know how dangerous opponent can Guillermo be, thus I'm even more satisfied after a convincing win. Novak will now play against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka who dispatched Huing Taik Lee from Korea in 3 sets, 6:1 5:7 6:4.

Stanislas is 22 year old (23rd birthday next week), 182cm tall, 79 in weight, current World #35, #33 in Race, with a career high in Singles at #28 on January 7th 2008 and career high in Doubles at #90 in November 2006.

This year's highlights include Doha Final where he lost to Andy Murray in 3 sets, reached Australian Open R64 when defeated by Marc Gisquet who was World #73 at that time, prior to Indian Wells played in Dubai where he lost in R32 against Jan Hernych (World #188) in 2 sets 4:6 4:6.

In ongoing Indian Wells, Stanislas won against J. Levine 2:1, T. Berdych 2:1, M. Baghdatis 2:1 and H.T. Lee 2:1. So Stanislas came to Indian Wells after a not so good performance in Dubai and won all matches here with 2:1, not a convincing form still he managed to reach Quarterfinals.

Novak is on the rise and is announced as even a stronger favorite to win this match than yesterday's against Guillermo. Novak - Stanislas match is today's 1st Quarterfinal on schedule, starting 1pm local time.

Novak and Stanislas played 4 matches against each other with 2-2 in wins. Novak won in the Davis Cup match in Geneve 2006 and in ATP Tournament in Vienna 2007 with convincing 2:0. Stanislas managed to beat Novak in Vienna 2006 and in Umag (Slovenia) Final 2006.

The only thing that looks exciting about this match is whether Novak will lose a set or progress to the Semi-finals after all straigth sets wins. Yup, there are only 2 players who can match Novak's form in Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Against Guillermo Canas

2008-03-19T04:48:00.000-07:00

Today's Round 4 matches give us the answer who are to be the Quarterfinals participants of ATP Masters Series Tournaments in Indian Wells 2008. Novak match is #4 on schedule and will not start before 2.15pm local time.

Novak is seen as a strong favorite to win the match, the only player given greater chances to win against the opponent in 8 matchs of this Round is Roger Federer against Ivan Ljubicic. Highly interesting matches of the day will be Rafael Nadal (Indian Wells' defending champion) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Australian Open 2008 Finalist) with predicted chances 60-40% for win in Rafael favore.

Here are Novak's some more thoughts on the upcoming match: 'I played Guillermo one time in Miami last year, and I played one of my best tennis, I think, in that final. It was a three set victory. Seems easy, but still, you know, you got to really work hard for it. The good thing is that I have another day to, you know, get ready, recover, and get to that match 100%'.

Guillermo is World #16, #71 in race, with the career highest Singles ranking at #8 in June 2005, this year's highlights include Semi-Final appearance in Las Vegas where he lost to Sam Querrey in straigth sets.

Prior to Indian Wells, Guillermo participated in Acapulco reaching Round 16 (lost to Argentinian Jose Acasuso in 3 sets), this year's Indian Wells includes wins over J. Bjorkman 2:0 and J. Monaco 2:1. Guillermo was 5-5 last season against Top 10 players after starting 5-0 and achieves better results on clay than on hard/grass/carpet surfaces.

Video: Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal In Indian Wells Final 2007

2008-03-19T04:25:00.000-07:00

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Needed Just 69 Minutes Against Philipp Kohlschreiber

2008-03-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic is on the roll, this time it was Philipp Kohlschreiber who faced Novak and suffered convincing loss in straigth sets, 3:6 2:6. Match lasted only 69 minutes and Novak got additional time to rest ahead of tonight's Quarterfinals.

Novak heads to the Indian Wells Final like an express train and we will see if there is anyone to stop his force, this is what he had to say after Round 3: 'I believe I have a new quality in my play. I finally realized how to play introduction matches in the tournaments'.

'It is good I didn't get too much tired against Phillipp, even though I didn't play the best I can. I need to spend my energy rationally'. Now, Novak will play against Argentinian Guillermo Canas who won against compatriot Juan Monaco in 3 sets, 6:3 6:7(1) 6:2 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 39 minutes.

Guillermo is #16 seed and played only once against Novak, last year in Miami Final when Novak won 3:0. Guillermo made the headlines last year in Indian Wells after beating Roger Federer in Round 2.

Here are Novak's thought on the upcoming match: 'He (Guillermo) is the kind of player that not going to give you a lot of free points, unforced errors. He's going to make you work for it. I expect that, I know.' After Round 1, easy wins without getting much tired, things look good for Novak.

Indian Wells: No Problemo In Novak Djokovic's First Match

2008-03-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic, Indian Wells' #3 seed, started the tournament successfully as expected. Novak won over Italian Andreas Seppi in two sets 6:3 7:6 (7:3) and once again proved he's a tie-break specialist.

In the first set, Novak made a break in 4th game to make it 3:1 which was enough for securing the set by keeping serve games later on, 6:3. Novak used the same tactics in the second set, he waited for the chance that came in the fifth game to take a break game lead to 3:2.

Novak didn't manage to keep the serve games and lost one in 10th game when Andreas made it 5:5, a lot of credits to for Andreas not giving up and fighting hard until the very end.

Novak made a re-break for 6:5 lead but again lost his serve for 6:6 in game. In the tie-break, it was Novak's time, as it usually. Novak, also known as the King of the tie-breaks, lead with 4:2, and finished the match after 98 minutes of play.

This made 3:0 in Novak - Andreas 3:0 duels. Novak will now play in Round 3 against the winner of Xavier Malisse adn Philipp Kohlscreiber. Novak never played against those 2 players, Xavier is currently World #250 and Philipp #27.

Novak defends last year's Final appearance and still has to progress in the ranking to catch up on Federer. Everything other than reaching the Quarterfinals would be a major failure for Novaks so we will skip giving him words of praise for the initial win.

Update: Novak will play in Round 3 against Philipp Kohlschreiber who won against Xavier Malisse in 3 sets, 6:2 5:7 6:4. The match will be on schedule probably on Monday, March 17th 2008.

Jay Leno hosts Novak Djokovic

2008-03-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

Novak Djokovic is free in Round 1 of Indian Wells, giving him enough time for fun activities, and what's the better way to do it than to team up with the funny man himself NBC's TV host Jay Leno.

Novak guested in Jay's Tonight Show on Wednesday, days before his first match in the first ATP Masters Series Event. Novak and Jay have one thing certainly in common, that is a good sense of humor, and yes Novak did impressions of Maria Sharapova in the Tonight Show.

Novak walked to greet Jay saying: 'Can I get more applause? I'm a bit nervous'. Jay and Novak cover a range of topic including the benefits of winning a Grand Slam, Novak said: 'The first thing that comes up to my mind is the girls are looking better now. I get first class, better meals probably, so it’s a healthier life.'

As it uses to be, Novak was asked about the suprising success of Serbian players in the world of tennis that includes WTA's #2 Ana Ivanovic and #4 Jelena Jankovic, he said:

Everybody is so confused and surprised how did we do it from such a small country. Since we have a lot of difficulties in the country the past twenty years, probably because of the radiation we are doing good now."

Many players were starring in Los Angeles social life, Verdasco met up with Los Angeles' Lakers Kobe Bryant, James Blake was in Jimmy Kimmels Show...

Another big news related to Novak is that he has officially announced he will be in the Queens Open in London that is played on grass from 9th to 15 June just before Wimbledon. Also in the tournament will participate Rafael Nadal and Jammie Murray.

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic Free in Round 1

2008-03-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic,, as #3 seed, will be free in Round 1 of Indian Wells. Round 2 will bring Novak either Italian Andreas Seppi or one of the 12 Qualifiers.

Novak's opponent, Andreas is a 23 year old, current World #40, #57 in the Race, with career high in Singles at #39 on February 25th 2008, highlights in 2008 include ATP Quarterfinal in Rotterdam, win in Bergamo Challenger in Singles and Doubles.

In all, Andreas is in life time form with recently accomplished career highest ranking. Andreas and Novak played 2 times previuosly with Novak winning both matches, in 2007 in Vienna (hard surface, 6:4 6:3) and Rotterdam 2006 (hard surface, 6:2 2:6 7:5).

Novak played in Indian Wells' Final last year (lost to Rafael Nadal) and is defending 350 ATP points. He could match up with Rafael in the Semi-Finals this year. Players Novak could play against include German Kohlscreiber or Belgian Malisse in Round 3, Argentinians Canas and Monaco in the Quarter-Finals, Spaniard Ferrer (#5 seed), Finn Nieminen...

In Novak's quarter of the draw are also Australian Open finalist Tsonga, then Gaskuet, Blake and Moya. Roger Federer will start the tournament in a match against either Argentinian Roitmann or Spaniard Lopez, then likely a match against Almagro.

Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells comes with #3.589.000 in prize money, with the winner being awarded $555.000 and emense 500 ATP points. A lot of work to be done for Novak and some pressure to reach the Final this year as well.

ATP Ranking: No Change This Week Either

2008-03-11T03:41:00.000-07:00

Novak Djokovic remains on the #3 position, position he is at for some time now. Novak earned 130 points playing in Dubai Semi-Finals last week.

This will be a tough month for Novak in North America as he defends huge number of ATP points. Last year Novak played in the Final of Indian Wells and won Miami so we can't expect for Novak to progress much up in the ranking.

And the clay (Rafael Nadal's) season is coming!? The main for Indian Wells has not been announced up to now. Interesting thing about Indian Wells is that both ATP and WTA tours will be played at the same time there, another Novak's memorable Maria Sharapova impression!? Face to face meeting!?

This is how the Top 5 list looks like: #1 Roger Federer 6.330 points, #2 Rafael Nadal 5.980, #3 Novak Djokovic 5.130, #4 Nikolay Davydenko 5.130, $5 David Ferrer 2.730.

Dubai: Novak Djokovic Ends In The Semi-finals

2008-03-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

Dubai will see none of the Top #5 seeds in the Final match, Novak #3 seed lost to Andy Roddick and #4 seed Nikolay Davydenko against Feliciano Lopez. Andy was not active in the top tournaments going on around Europe since the Australian Open, he spent that time participating in smaller tournaments in his home country.

Novak lost in 2 sets 6:7 3:6 in a match that lasted less than 90 minutes First set passed in both players showing powerful serves, and eventually came down to tie-break where Andy managed to win the set. Novak had 9 aces, 22 out of 23 won points on first serve, 2 break points in first set.

Andy had only 61% success of first serves, still he was best when it was the mst important and made two 'mini-breaks' in tie-break to win it 7:5. It was the first set that Novak lost in Dubai and has lasted 50 minutes.

In the second, Novak was not as good, his first serve was not equal in precision to first set, Novak had no aces nor break point opportunities. Andy continued to serve well, after 7 aces in first set, he had another 7 aces in second set.

At 3:4, Novak saved 3 break point, in 8th game another one, though Andy used 5th break point opportunity for 5:3 and pretty much he sealed the victory before his serve game.

Andy will now play in the final against Feliciano Lopez who is currently World #41 and has managed to win against Nikolay Davydenko even though he was down 3:5 in the 3rd set. For Novak, it's trip to the other side of the world and Indian Wells tournament that starts next week.

Video: Novak Djokovic 'hits on' a Ballgirl

2008-03-07T01:06:00.000-08:00

Dubai: Novak Djokovic's Another Convincing Win Another The Semi-Finals

2008-03-07T00:33:00.000-08:00

Novak Djokovic accomplished another easy 2:0 win and has reached the Dubai Final, this time the win came against the World #34 Russian Igor Andreev 6:2 6:1 after only 55 minutes of play.

With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out, Novak is the highest ranked player in the Semi-finalw and a favorite to win his 9th ATP career title. Novak and Igor met twice last year on clay surface and clay seems to be the only surface where Igor is a good enough match for Novak.

After 2:2 in first set, Novak made 5 breaks and allowed Igor to win only one game. Novak will now play in the Semi-finals against #6 seed Andy Roddick who won against World #2 Rafael Nadal 6:6 6:2 in the Quarterfinals.

Semi-final match Novak - Andy will be the second time that they meet, one time they play against each other was last year in the Master Series tournament in Montreal when Novak won with 7:6 6:4 in games (later Novak won against Nadal and Federer on the way to win the title).

Up to the Semi-final, Andy won against Juan Carlos Ferrero and Paul Henri Gaskuet. In the second Semi-final match, Spaniard Feliciano Lopez (won against David Ferrer in the Quarterfinals) will play against Russian Nikolay Davydenko (won against Andy Murray).

Dubai: Novak Djokovic's Another Easy Win

2008-03-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Novak Djokovic made another easy win in Dubai, this time in Round 2 against Fabrice Santoro with 2:0 in sets 6:3 7:6 in the match that lasted 1 hours and 38 minutes. In 1st set, Novak made a break at 2:1 in games, kept his service games where he won 94% of points on first serve and eventually won the set 6:3.

Fabrice, a Frenchman born in Tahiti who started playing professional tennis when Novak was 2 years old, played much better in 2nd set and had 4 break opportunities, managing only 1 of them to use for 3:1 lead. Novak followed with winning a break and the set was tied to 6:6 in games.

Novak is known as a 'tie-break specialist' and he gave little change to Fabrice, World #47, Novak won the tie break 7:3 and commented after the match: 'I started the match good as I was highly motivated for revenge for last year's loss in Paris. I maximally ready, physically and psychologilly.'

Novak added that the key to victory was in patient and calm game: 'Fabrice doesn't have one extraordinary quality shot, still, he play constantly and makes little mistakes. It was most important for me to stay calm and patient'.

He thanked the Serbian supporters for giving him support through the match and expressed the hope that they will follow him in next days as well. Novak will now play against Russian Igor Andreev who won in the match against Richard Gasquet in two sets 6:3 6:4.

Match is on schedule on Thursday. Looking back to today results, Rafael Nadal progressed with a 2:0 win over Mikhail Ledovski, as well Nikolay Davidenko against Jan Hernich, Andy Murray won against Fernando Verdasco 2:1 in sets. Quarter-Final matches Djokovic - Andreev, Ferrer-Loez, Murray-Davydenko, Nadal-Roddick.

Novak: Players no longer fear Federer

2008-03-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

After the win in a match against Marin Cilic in Round 1 of Dubai, Novak talked more about Federer - Murray match then his own, sort of natural as the whole world is stunned by Roger's early exit in Round 1, plus Roger's possible lost of World #1 position after 47 months if Rafeal Nadals is to win Dubai.

Novak said: 'Obviosly as the time passes by, we learn more and more, especially how to play against him (Roger). I believe after the results in past several month, increasing number of players believe they can beat him'.

'Honestly, taking in consideration results from this year, play styles of both players and surface speed, I expected Murray to win. I think Roger doesn't like to get a lot of tennis balls deep in the court, on the other side Murray has a brilliant style, great talent, and knows how to play in certain moment'.

Novak won against Roger in Australian Open he later won. Some may have doubted was that the beginning of fall of the 'untouchable' Roger.

Off-court, the picture of Novak skiing in an improvised ski track in the biggest shopping mall in sunny Dubai went around the world today. Novak learned to ski before ever taking tennis recket in his hands. Both of his parents are professional skiers and have tought skiing lessons on the mountain Kopaonik back in the days.

Novak explained: 'I learned to ski when 4 years old. That's a great sport, highly fun and is my biggest obsession'.

Dubai: Novak Djokovic In Round 2 Against Fabrice Santoro

2008-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Novak made it to the Round 1 of Dubai in the manner of an experienced player, he won the Round 1 match in 1 hour 18 minutes against Marin Cilic, former Junior #2, now World #45 in the ATP Rankings.

In 1st set, decisive was the fifth game where Novak made a break without giving away a single point to his opponent. In 2nd set, 19-year old Marin lost serve games on two occasions, enough for Novak's 6:3 win. In contrast to Marin, Novak ruled the court when on serve, giving away only 1 point per serve game (38/51).

Novak will now play against French veteran Fabrice Santoro who accomplished good result in Round 1 by beating Mikhail Youzhny with 2:0 in sets (6:4 6:3). Novak played one match against Fabrice who is current World #47, it was in the Paris Masters in 2007 when Fabrice won.

Rafael Nadal also won in Round 1 (against Philip Kohlschriber, 3:6 6:1 6:4) and is looking for eventual Dubai title to overthrow Roger Federer from World #1 position. Novak and Rafael can not meet before the Final, we hope they will meet there then.

Dubai: Novak Djokovic Ahead Of Round 1

2008-03-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

Novak said he is looking forward to the match with Croatian Marin Cilic in Round 1 in Dubai, where he is #3 seed: 'It's always a challenge when you play against a player for the first time. As World #3 I am a favorite in that match and I have great expectations. Preasure is a part of sport, only the toughest ones can deal with it. Cilic doesn't have anything to lose, he will be motivated, he will look for his chance'.

Novak said he likes playing in Dubai and always had good support from the crowd: 'I played well last year. Here are a lot of Serbs and I hope to receive support from the audiance. I saw they (Serbian supporters) had interesting coreography last week in Women's Tournament with flags, shirts... I'll be happy if I receive the same support'.

Novak said he recovered from the problems he dealt with during last month when he missed first Davis Cup match, later was eliminated early from Marseille and passed to participate in Rotterdam Tournament: 'I got several days of rest, I tried to recover and get healthy. I prepared myself in Monte Carlo and I think I am fully ready for the continuation of the season'.

On day 1, there were already surprises in Dubai, World #1 and #1 seed Roger Federer lost to Andy Murray, it's in no sense a custom to see Roger lose in Round 1 of any Tournament. Dubai is a $1.42 in prize money ahead of the Masters Series Tournaments in Indian Walles (13th of March) and Miami (27th of March) with incombine prize money 7.36 million.

Novak will play firs match tomorrow (Tuesday, March 4th) and we hope to see him in a stellar performance considering he took enough time to rest, prepare and must be eager for tennis and wins. Roger is out and this is not a clay surface where Rafael Nadal dominates, Novak is now pretty much the favorite to win Dubai.

Dubai: Novak Djokovic - Marin Cilic In Round 1

2008-03-02T01:47:00.000-08:00

After a 20 days rest to heal the flu virus and exhaustion that followed, Novak will be back on court this week in Dubai and will play in Round 1 against Marin Cilic from Croatia, current World #38. They did not play against each other up to now.

There was not much change in the ATP points difference between World Top 3 players, Roger Federer did not participate in tournaments for more than a month since Australian Open in January, Rafael Nadal had a rare appearance during February in Rotterdam but did not perform best.

Federer will play in Round 1 against Andy Murrey, while Nadal will play agaist Philip Kohlschreiber.

Tournament data - date: March 3-8th 2008, place Dubai UAE, surface: hard/outdoors, prize money: $1.426.000, official name: The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship, last years winner: Roger Federer after winning over Mikhail Youzhny in the Final 6:4 6:3, the winner will receive 300 ATP points (in prize money $300.00), Finalist 210 points ($153.000), Semi-Finalists 135 points ($78.000).

In Round 2, Novak could play against the winner of Mikhail Youzhny - Fabrice Santoro match and he can not play with Roger before the Final. Best seeded player he could meet in the Quarter-Final is #7 seed Richard Gasquet. Novak is fully rested and we expect him to reach high in Dubai.

ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic Stays At #3, No Tournaments This Week

2008-02-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

On this morning's (February 25th) ATP Rankings, Novak stayed at #3. Federer did not particapate in any tournament past week as well so he stayed at #1 with 6.630 points, Rafael Nadal afte not overwhelmingly successful Rotterdam's performance is at #2 with 5.980 points, while Novak is #3 with 5.070, then a great gap with David Ferer at #4 with 2.695 points and Nikolay Davidenko at #5 with 2.640 points.

The only big change in Top 10 is that Argentinian David Nalbandian is back in the Top 10 at #8 after winning Buenos Aires Tournament. Novak will play no Tournaments this week taking time to rest and will be on court next week.

Novak Djokovic Speach In Front Of Hundreds Of Thousands Of People

2008-02-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

With Novak taking a 20-day break due to health problems, we thought we may not heard about him much and know where he hangs out while taking time for himself and his personal life, something Top players usually do not have during the season. Well, he will appear on TV to give support to ongoing situation in home country.

He will feature on TV tomorrow, February 21st, with a speack on the meeting of peace in Belgrade in front of probably several hundreds of thousands of people protesting against situation in Kosovo.

Novak is a big patriot, he's dedicated to his family and roots, he loves his people, he always gave his best in Davis Cup team, last year he was voted for the personality of the year in Serbia, now he will give his support on the meeting where Prime-minister of Serbia, movie director Kusturica... will gather.

Tournament in Rotterdam is in its 3rd day, Novak cancelled his participation for not fully healing flu virus, it is still unclear when but most likely Novak will be back on March 3rd in Doha.

Update: Novak;s video speach was heard by around 400.000 people and received a great welcome. Novak apologized for not being there personally and talk about his patriotic feelings.

Boris Becker: Djokovic Ready To Be #1

2008-02-19T04:58:00.000-08:00

Boris Becker expressed his assurance that the change at the top of men's tennis is not far away. Youngest Wimbledon Winner in history and one of the biggest stars the world of tennis ever had considers Novak Djokovic's fantastic plays in Australia a proof that he has matured to be serious #1 contender, just like Rafael Nadal.

The great champion should know what he's talking about. In recent months, Nadal fell in Novak's shadow and Becker believes that Nadal's time is not over: 'When someone with 21 years of age has already won 3 Roland Gaross titles, he worth a lot. Rafa is capable of anything, in the last two years, he was the only one close to Federer and I believe he does not need to wait for Roger to retired to be #1. Though, he's not the only one.

Becker became aware of Novak's qualities in Indian Walles a year ago when he presented trophies to Nadal and Djokovic at the awards ceremony. Since then, Djokovic exploded while Swiss and Spaniard stayed more less the same.

Former World #1 concluded: 'I'm amazed by Novak. I watched how he won his first Grand Slam in Melbourne. Djokovic is a bridge between two generations. He's already in the fight for the top, with him grows rivarly in the top competitions'.

Interesting to note, Becker in opposition to others does not concider Federer to be the best Tennis player of all time: 'He needs to win a couple more Grand Slam titles. Pit Sampras is still a record holder with 14, while Swiss stopped at 12. In the end, the only thing that counts are trophies. Victories do not leave room for dillema.'

Louis Hamilton Steals Award From Novak Djokovic

2008-02-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

Prestigious Sports Award 'Laureus' constituted of 43 living legends of World Sports jury was awarded in presence of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Novak was one of among 6 sportsmen named in 'breath through of the year' category but award went to Formula 1 driver Louis Hamilton who finished ranked 2nd in his 1st season in F1 competition.

Award for the sportsman of the year went to Roger Federer for 4th successive year. World Sports legends such as mark Spitz, Boris Becker, Serey Bupka, Nadia Komanechi and many other named Swiss Tennis player for best athelete in 2007 in famous theatre 'Marinski' in Sankt Petersburg.

Another Tennis player, WTA's Justine Henan was named best sportswomen in 2007 while 2nd place went to high-jump record holder Jelena Isibayeva. Along with Novak, in 'breath through of the year' category were Alberto Kontador, Tyson Guy, Oscar Pistorius and Kacey Stoner.

Novak remained World #3 in this morning's (February 18th, 2008) ATP rankings with 5.156 points.

Novak To Miss Rotterdam, On Court Not Before Dubai - March 3rd

2008-02-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Just 2 days after lose to Simon, and text where we discussed whether Novak needed to play in Marseille or was it more beneficial to cancel his participation and heal flu virus, the announcement came that Novak will not play in Rotterdam due to health problems.

Novak decided to miss Rotterdam where he made it to the semi-finals (lost to M. Youzhny) last year and won 110 ATP point he will now not be able to defend. Rotterdam is relatively close to Marseille and his home in Monaco, Novak would have 4 or 5 days to rest before first match.

After winning the match against Novak, G. Simon lost to P-H. Mathieu 2:0 (6:3, 6:4). As well, Rotterdamn is 824.000 euros in prize money and in all more important to Novak than Marseille, it tells how exhausted Novak feels right now.

Novak was supposed to be #2 seed, his place in main drow will now take Simone Bolleli. Luckily, Novak is ahead of World #4 Nikolay Davydenko by 2400 ATP points and 110 points he will lose missing Rotterdam will not effect his ranking.

The Golden Series Dubai Tournament starts on March 3rd 2008, with $1.426.000 in prize money, 300 ATP points for the winner and 210 for the finalist. After Doha, Novak will be in action in Indian Wells (March 13th) where he made it to the final last years and Miami (March 27th) where he reached the final last year, 2 tournaments where he will defend overall 850 ATP points.

Novak Videos: Sharapova With Short Black Hair At Australian Open 2008

2008-02-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

Marseille: Novak Djokovic - Gilles Simon - 1:2

2008-02-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Coming to Marseille, question was is Novak healthy enough to play? On Sunday he needed to withdraw due to exhaustion in a match against Davydenko when leading 2:1 in sets, match that sealed the victory for Russian Fed Cup team. Novak's 2 other Fed Cup team-mates also to caught a flu in Moscow have withdrown from participating in ongoing Belgrade Challenger this week for not being healthy enough.

Marseille is a big venue with €534,000 in total prize money and 200 ATP points for the winner. Novak is #1 seed, he's ranked #1 in curent ATP race, #3 in ATP rankings and is tournament's leading Star, his first ATP tournament after winning Australian Open. Though he had all the reasons to cancel participation for not being fully healthy.

Nadal World #2 and Federer World #1 do not participate in any tournament this week as they took time to rest after the season's first Grand Slam. Novak does play, plus not fully healthy. First match was on scheadule on Tuesday against Croatian Ivan Dodig World #296 and Novak won 2:0.

Today, Wednesday February 14th, Novak faced Gilles Simon, current World #30 with a career high #29 rank in November 2007, last year's title winner in Marseille. 1st set Novak lost 2:6. In 2nd set Simon had a match point, eventually Novak won the set 7:6 (8:6) to be only player to win a set in Simon's this year's and last year's Marseille performance.

During 1st and 2nd set, Novak did not hit the ball with full power he is known for, he made many unforced error, missed some open shots and did not seem to be at his best, tv commentator described it as one of Novak's weakest perfomances in a year.

In 3rd set, after almost 2 hours of play, Novak began to lose the remaining strength. When down 3:5 in games and with 2 break points to keep the set alive, Novak made an unforced error to make it 40-40, another unforced error on match point for his opponent.

In the end, Simon won third set (6:3) and match to become 3rd player in history of Marseille tournament to defended the title, last one to do it Enquist a decade ago. Simon's powerful serve was his biggest weapon in the match, he won 4 out of 9 meeting against Top 10 ranked players last year but never against a player from Top 3.

Next tournament Novak will participate in is Rotterdam Netherlands, February 18-24th 2008. Luckily Novak's home in Monaco is not far from Marseille and he won't need to travel much. We hope for Novak to get rest so he can be in best health for Rotterdam.

Novak Djokovic Playing In Marseille This Week

2008-02-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

After Moscow and Fed Cup Singles participation, Djokovic is back on Tour in Marseille. It's to be seen how healthy Novak is, he needed to withdraw on Sunday as he cought the flu. Novak is #1 seed in Marseille, along domestic French players, all eyes will be on him participating in the first ATP tournament after winning the Australian Open.

In first round Novak will face Ivan Dodig from Croatia, World #296 who progressed to the first round through qualifications. The match will be played on Wednesday. Winner of the match will play against winner in the match between two French men David Guez (Wild Card) and Gilles Simon.

If Novak is to progress in the Quarter-Final, he will face the biggest challenge probably in the name of Paul-Henri Mathieu #8 seed player. His possible oponents in the Semi-Final would be #4 seed Andy Murray and Juan Carlos Ferrero #5 seed. In possible Final, Novak could face Richard Gasquet #2 seed and Mikhail Youzhny #3 seed, or some other surprise player to reach the final.

Marseille Facts: date - February 11-17th 2008, surface - Hard, GreenSet, prize money - 534.000 euros. Winner will earn 85.650 euros and 200 ATP points, Finalist 46.275 euros and 140 points.

Go Novak... umm how do you say that in French... Novak Novak!? Justine Henan is 'like' French and always says 'ale' after winning the point, for whatever it is 'Ale Novak' then :)

Fed Cup: The Day After By Head Coach Bogdan Obradovic

2008-02-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

Davis Cup head coach Bogdan Obradovic gave interview for 'MONDO' explaining 'they have nothing to regret for': 'We want to win Davis Cup, in that sense it doesn't matter if we lose in first round or in the Final. Russian Davis Cup Team head coach said if we play with our best players we can be best team in the world, it's surely a compliment. I hope we used out our bad luck on this occasion and that it will passs us by in the future.

Asked if Novak Djokovic gave his maximum against Davydenko, Obradovic commentated: 'Just seeing Novak going out there is an act of bravery. Unfortunately he used up his 'fuel' he had in him at that moment, certainly the most important thing is he do not expose his health to jeopardy because of one match for National Team. I can only congratulate him on showed secrifice'.

Obradovic told that World #3 was their only solution in moment when the Team was 2:1 down, and there was no other super-power to turns around.: 'Viktor Troicki showed he belongs to play in the National Team. Janko Tipsarevic did not play, but with cheering for team-mates from the bench, he help to build positive atmosphere, he was with the team all the time'.

Picture copyright: MONDO MTS

Vodka named after Djokovic

2008-02-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

During Fed Cup match-up Serbia vs. Russia, after Novak withdrew during the match against Davydenko, a Russian reporter presented Novak a bottle of Vodka with Novak's picture on it and the sign 'Djokovka'.

'Argumenti i Fakti' journalist said: 'We do not want to watch such sad matches in the future, so I hope this present will cheer you up. You are the pride of Serbian people, as well, yu are the pride of all Slav people'.

This present came after Novak's yesterday's victory in Doubles when he gave interview on press conference explaining how he and his team-mates heal current health problems: 'It's a sort of Vodka. Very strong alcohol. We usually drink it when something hurts us and it instantly passes away... Something like your Vodka... People from the West don't understand it'.

So did the day ended, in relaxing atmosphere and a few jokes along the way.

Fed Cup: Lost But Victorious

2008-02-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Novak needed to withdraw after leading 2 sets to 1 against Davydenko. Novak, obviously not in best health condition, after winning two first sets 6:4 6:3 and losing third 6:4, was not able to continue the match. In the last Fed Cup match, Troicki won against Tursunov, and Russian progressed into the quarter-finals by beating Serbia 3:2 overall.

Djokovic said he had no strength to finish the match against Davydenko and decided to withdraw not to risk his health: 'Before the match I was feeling good, but I knew there's possibility I couldn't take it all the way. I wanted to fight, but during the match I realized I don't have enough strength. I decided to stop because I didn't want to play with my health'.

Djokovic said he himself decided to face Davydenko as he wanted to contribute to the win of Serbia against Russia in the Eight-Finals. It ended in unwanted direction with Russia getting decisive win 3:1.

'My word was final, but it's discutable if it was a wrong decision. I don't regret for playing because I did it with the right goal, to help my country. Though, everything has its limits and I needed to withdraw', with regret stated World #3.

'This is just one failure, and we will have much more opportunities for success in David Cup. It wasn't the moment right now, plus we got the toughest opponent... never mind, we'll stay brother', said Djokovic who earlier that day apologized to the reporters for needing to miss press conference due to exhaustion and bad health condition.

Still, Djokovic needed to get back from hotel where he went straight away after finish of the match because Serbia Tennis Federation was threatened with a $10.000 penalty if he doesn't show up on the conference. On the other side, Davydenko said he did not expect for Djokovic to hand him over the victory, but he stated he was aware that Serbian Tennis player can not keep up to play 5 sets.

Davydenko added: 'I was surprised when Djokovic withdrew, especially since I didn't noticed during the match that he has problems with playing, he played very well and controlled the match. I knew, though, that he did not train and he's not ready to play 5 sets. In third set I started to play much better, plus I was boosted with great support from the crowd.

Davydenko concluded that Djokovic's health problems were a great plus for Russian team: 'I understand Djokovic. On Australian Open he was in a great form, that's when your body immune system declines'. Nevertheless, we were not in our full strength as Marat Safin did not play because of knee injury and 39 degree Celsius temperature.

Reporters also asked Davydenko to comment Djokovic's preparations for serve, that lasts unusually long: ' The fact is it doesn't ease you, since you want long, getting ready to hit back the ball'.

Novak may have lost, Serbian David Cup team overall as well, but he and his team-mates came out of it victorious for the will and motives to stand up to their health problems and try to win no matter what. Match against Russia will surely be remembered and Davis Cup team will try to make up all lost the next time they play.

Fed Cup: Djokovic-Zimonjic tougher than health problems and the Russian Doubles

2008-02-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Djokovic-Zimonjic duo won against Youzhny-Tursunov in the Doubles match keep hope alive for overall win. Russians now lead 2:1 over all. Despite health problems, Djokovic even not being certain to play until few hours before the match, Serbian Duo accomplished a 3:0 (6:3, 7:6(8:6), 7:6(7:5)) win.

After using the only break poin in the first set, Novak-Nenad duo won the set 6:3. Second set lasted for over an hour until the the tie-break and 8:6, N-N duo had plenty of break points during 2nd set but Russians managed to stay in the set win great services in those decisive moments. In the end, Russians were first to have a set point by 5:4. Onwards, the slight advantage was always on N-N side that finally lead them to set win.

Nenad Zimonjic was the only player not to lose his service in this match. Djokovic commentated: 'It could have been a lot easier, still it's important that we won and I hope I'll be feeling better tomorrow. We still have a chance to win. I'm happy, but honestly I'm fully exhausted'.

'Despitate me feeling not healthy, it's not the same when you play for you country. There's a team spirit among us, that's what motivates us and I hope tomorrow will be even better than today... I know everybody are expecting for me to play first Singles match on Sunday and I can promise to give my best once I'm out on the court. I realize I'll be playing against the World #4 and it will be tough anyhow. Though, we will see tonight and tomorrow morning what my health condition will be. I hope to play'.

Russian journalists were interested to know how do Serbian players are healing health problems, considering that majority of medicaments is not allowed for them. Djokovic added in his manner: 'Sljivovica, that is a kind of vodka. Very strong alcohol. Usually we dring it when something hurt us and it passes away... Something alike your Vodka... People from the West can't understand that'.

Novak's partner in Doubles, Nenad, said it's important that they won in 3 sets, during his anti-doping control. Nenad with last night's temperature 38 Degrees Celsius due to health problems added: 'Perhaps we could have made it to the victory easier. We did not use our chances. We deserved to win. I wanted to play to today knowing it will get easier for Novak".

Youzhny agreed that it was Zimonjic who made that little extra for Serbian Doubles win: 'Zimonjic has more experience in playing Doubles than all of us, and Djokovic covered his backs good'. Youzhny did not want to comment tomorrow matches where he will also play against Troicki: 'It's uncertain I will play. It's not certain that either Troicki will play. A lot will depend on the first match as well. Anyhow, I hope if I will play to be better than today.'

Tursunov had much more optimism: 'Usually players are full of self-esteem after winning big tournaments and they make even shots that they normally don't do. We expected Djokovic to be no different after winning Australian Open. Still we saw in second and third set that he lacked self-esteem and we were equal match to them. A few balls decided.

Russian Davis Cup team lead 2:1 after the second day. Tomorrow will feature the remaining 2 matches in Singles, first ones on court will be Davydenko and Djokovic, will the 5th match be decisive and who will play in it for Serbia will be known tomorrow morning.

Video: Fun Side Of Novak

2008-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Fed Cup: Novak Back In Training, Possible for Doubles Match

2008-02-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

While National Team coach Bogdan Obradovi and Viktor Troicki gave interviews after the loss against Nikolay Davydenko for 2:0 lead before the Doubles match on Saturday noon time, Novak Djokovic was back in training in the Louzhniki Hall.

This was Djokovic's first training after 3 days since he cought flew, the same destiny to happen ot Nenad Zimonjic and Janko Tipsarevic. Novak stepping up on the court warmed hope that the Saturdays Doubles match will feature 'first team' including Zimonjic - Djokovic. Still, the decision on head coach and it will probably be known '1 to 12', that is, an hour before the match, even though he already listed that duo to appear on Saturday during media conference.

Team captain said: 'Novak trains and I already listed him to play with Zimonjic. Still, he's not feeling best. He's exhausted and the morning will give us answer on where stand'.

On the other side, Novak's team-mate Viktor Troicki gave an interview after his lose to Davydenko: "When the game started, I was a bit nervous, since I never played for my country in the Fed Cup. Besides, World #4 was on the other side of the net playing in front of his home crowd... and Russia is the best Davis Cup team in the world'.

"Afterwards I got more relaxed, I was up to Davydenko's play but I missed some luck in the decisive moments of 5th set. At the same time, Davydenko was doing greaet, he made shots and there is nothing I could have done.

Traicki travelled to Moscow with the team as a substitute, as destiny had it, he made a debut for Serbian David Cup team in Singles on the first day against Russia.

Fed Cup: Novak Misses First Match

2008-02-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

Tough times faced Serbian Fed Cup team shortly after arriving to Moscow. Janko Tipsarevic was out as he caught flew, the same symptoms were noted with the other players, Zimonjic and Djokovic. Novak missed his first match so he can be ready as he can be for the raimining matches. Zimonjic jumped in as a substitute against Youzhny and lost (1-3), so did Troicki (Tipsarevic's substitute) against Davydenko (2-3).

These are some tought times, especially for Novak and his strong patriotic feelings to help the National Team. Just a few days before, Djokovic said in an interview: "It hurts that Tipsarevic won't be able to help", now he's out too.

With wishes for Novak's best health, we'll keep you updated.

Fed Cup: Novak's Self-Assurance worries Russians

2008-02-07T03:50:00.000-08:00

Novak gave an interview two days ago on first media conference before the match against Russia in Serbia saying he has no fears that the Russian National team supporters will not be friendly to our players.

Novak said in Moscow: "We are all friends with Russian players, and in my opinion, there's no reason for the Russian supporters to be unfriendly to us", also adding that he hopes Serbian players will not be welcomed the same way that Izraelis welcomed Maria Sharapova.

Dmitrij Tursunov made sure to make good atmosphere, he said: "Novak does not win thanks to the surfaces, crowd or judges, but thanks to his knowledge", while Marat Safin added it will be hard to play against Novak as his self-assurance arose to maximum after Australian Open and he's full of positive charge.

Discussions and doubts are going on our Moscow asking for answers why Russian National team coaching staff decided to choose the surface on which they have the worst record. For the first time in 10 years, hard-court has been set up in Louzhniki as Russian always played on clay or carpet surface when hosting.

That decision made additional confusion knowing that Davydenko is 0-1, Yuzhni 0-3, Tursunov 0-2, and Safin 1-4 in Davis Cup on that surface. On the other hand, Novak made his best results on exactly that surface, the same surface that was on Australian Open 2008 as well.

Last Fed Cup match between former Yugoslavia and USSR was played in 'Pionir' Hall in Belgrade when Yugoslavia won 3:2. This road trip will be a lot harder for Men's National team than the one Women's National team is to take to Croatia. All eyes will be on Novak to win his matches in Single and Zimonjic (Australian Open 2008Mixed Doubles Winner) to add his spell of magic in the Doubles.

Novak Djokovic - Gentleman Among The Ladies

2008-02-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

Novak Djokovic arose in the group of young Serbian Tennis players who took over the World of Tennis by storm, along WTA's Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. Their success and break through came as if almost a team work. As one of them would make personal record high ranking, other would follow and take the lead, and so on ever since they entered Top 100, all the way to where they are now, all in Top 5.

While two young ladies already had a domestic role-model of the same gender to look up to, namely former Serbian World #1 WTA Player Monika Seles, Djokovic needed to write history of Serbian Tennis by himself and be the first one to make it to ATP's Top 5. So he did.

Today, February 6th 2008, Novak is ranked World #3 ATP player, position he occupies for months now. After Novak's recent suberb performance in the recently finished Australian Open where he won his first Grand Slam title, Novak heads on to ATP #1 position. This means challenging the best Tennis player in ATP history, Roger Federer. Novak is all about challenges and writing the history, so Go Novak All The Way.

Join us on a journey of Tennis through which Novak will lead this blog dedicated to him to follow him with each playing step he makes.

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Blog about the ladies can be followed here: Ana Ivanovic & Jelena Jankovic