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Novak Djokovic
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(Serbian: ????? ???????, Novak Ðokovic, , born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3.
He won his first Grand Slam singles title at the 2008 Australian Open. After beating World No. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events.
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(Serbian: ????? ???????, Novak Ðokovic, , born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3.
He won his first Grand Slam singles title at the 2008 Australian Open. After beating World No. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events. He was the runner-up at the 2007 US Open and won the bronze medal in singles at the 2008 Olympic Games. He won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and has won four Masters Series tournaments.
Biography
Djokovic was born May 22, 1987 in Zvecan Serbia, then Yugoslavia. He was born to Serbian parents, Srdjan and Dijana, and is the oldest of their three sons. His two younger brothers, Djordje and Marko, are also tennis players with professional aspirations. He started playing tennis at the age of four, and was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Gencic at the age of eight, who stated "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." At twelve years old, he spent three years at Nikola Pilic's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at age fourteen, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.
He currently resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and is coached by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda.
Djokovic speaks Serbian, Italian and English fluently and often gives interviews and press conferences in all three. He also speaks a bit of German.
Djokovic is also known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.
Tennis career
2003-2005
In the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type.
2006
He participated in the 2006 Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian player Ana Ivanovic, with the pairing narrowly missing the final.
In May 2006, various reports appeared in the British media about Djokovic's mother Dijana reportedly approaching Britain's Lawn Tennis Association about her son joining British tennis ranks and the possibility of their entire 5-person family moving from Serbia to live in Britain. All the rumours didn't affect Djokovic's play, however. He started 2006 ranked 78th, but with an excellent path to the quarterfinals at the French Open and a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon, he found himself in the top 40.
Just three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djokovic won his second career title at Open de Moselle in Metz, and with this victory moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
At the US Open, Djokovic lost in the third round to former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 6–3, 6–1, 6–2.
2007
Djokovic began the year by winning in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final. At the Australian Open, he lost in the fourth round to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets.
His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top ten. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal but defeated Nadal in the Miami Masters event before defeating the resurgent Guillermo Cañas in the final.
He later played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round in straight sets. At the Estoril Open, Djokovic defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the final. He then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà, respectively.
At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semifinal ever, where he lost to eventual champion Nadal.
During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis 7–6(4), 7–6(9), 6–7(3), 4–6, 7–5. In his semifinal match, he was forced to retire against Nadal due to a back injury and foot problem. He became the first player to retire from semifinal match at Wimbledon.
Djokovic then won the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated World No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, and World No. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994. And Djokovic was only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)." However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Carlos Moyà in straight sets.
He nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points on serve in the first set and two against serve in the second set but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. On his way to the final, Djokovic won a nearly five hour second round match against Radek Štepánek 6–7(4), 7–6(5), 5–7, 7–5, 7–6(2).
After recovering from a minor injury, Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. Djokovic's next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6(4). At the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, he was upset by Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.
Djokovic, then assured of finishing the year as World No. 3 and for the first time, he qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup. Djokovic was the first player to arrive. He was also the first player to exit the tournament, losing all three of his round-robin matches in straight sets. He lost to Ferrer 6–4, 6–4; Gasquet 6–4, 6–2; and Nadal 6–4, 6–4.
2008
Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World Number 3 Jelena Jankovic. He won all his round-robin matches and the team, seeded first, reached the final. They lost 2–1 to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.
At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached the final without losing a set. Along the way, he defeated the top-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals 7–5, 6–3, 7–6(5). This ended Federer's streak of 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals. Djokovic also became the first person to beat Federer in straight sets in a Grand Slam tournament since Gustavo Kuerten at the 2004 French Open. Djokovic then defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final to earn Serbia's and his first ever Grand Slam singles title. At the age of 20 years and 250 days, he was the youngest male to win the Australian Open singles title since Stefan Edberg in 1985. This win also enabled him to surpass US$6 million in career prize money.
At the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, Djokovic was upset by Frenchman Gilles Simon in the second round 6–2, 6–7(6), 6–3. Djokovic's next tournament was the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, where he lost in the semifinals to World No. 6 Andy Roddick 7–6(5), 6–3.
At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final. At the Masters Series Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Djokovic was upset in the second round by Kevin Anderson 7–6, 3–6, 6–4.
On red clay at the Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic retired from his semifinal match with Federer while trailing 6–3, 3–2. However, two weeks later, Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome after defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in a three-hour semifinal match 7–5, 2–6, 6–2. At the French Open in Paris, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals 6–4, 6–2, 7–6(3).
On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing 7–6(6), 7–5. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to former World No. 1, but unseeded, Marat Safin 6–4, 7–6(3), 6–2.
Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray 6–3, 7–6(3). The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final after having beaten World No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals 6–1, 7–5, ending the Spaniard's 32-match winning streak. In the final, he lost to Murray in straight sets.
His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjic, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal, the eventual champion, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. This match was also noted for Djokovic's reaction after the match, because on match point, Djokovic missed a relatively easy smash. When Nadal came to the net, Djokovic gave him a hug, and then proceeded to later leave the court in tears, barely able to wave to the crowd. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semifinal, in the bronze medal match 6–3, 7–6(4).
After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. During his fourth round match with Tommy Robredo, he was plagued by both a hip injury, for which he required two time-outs, and exhaustion. Nevertheless, he won the match 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3. Eighth-seeded Andy Roddick later said in a press conference that Djokovic was "either quick to call a trainer or the most courageous guy of all time", insinuating that his opponent had a reputation for being injured, as well as giving a list of ailments he thought Djokovic might have. After defeating Roddick, 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(5) in the quarterfinals, he was booed on the court during in a courtside interview, after sarcastically saying, "Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match, obviously I don't, right?" Djokovic later apologized to Roddick, saying that it was a misunderstanding. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2 in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.
At the finals of the Thailand Open, in a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost to Tsonga in straight sets.
He was upset in the third round of the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid by Croat Ivo Karlovic 7–6(4), 7–6(5) without any breaks of serve during the match. Two weeks later at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, he lost in the third round once again to Tsonga 6–4, 2–6, 6–3.
In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. In his first round robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga 1–6, 7–5, 6–1. However, by having a round robin record of 2-1, Djokovic qualified for the semifinals, where he defeated Gilles Simon 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko once again to win his first ever Tennis Masters Cup title.
2009
Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia. He was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round 6–4, 6–4. At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6(3).
Djokovic was the defending champion at the Australian Open but retired in the quarterfinals to former World No. 1 Andy Roddick while trailing in the fourth set 6–7(3), 6–4, 6–2, 2–1 due to heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness. This retirement drew criticism from several of the remaining players in the tournament, who noted that Djokovic had now retired from matches in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Among them was second-seeded Roger Federer, who responded to queries about the matter by saying, "I'm almost in favor of saying, you know what, if you're not fit enough, just get out of here. If Novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4–0 down in the fourth. Thanks to Andy that he retired in the end. Andy pushed him to the limits."
Djokovic then participated in the Open 13 in Marseille and reached the semifinals only to be beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the fourth consecutive time 6–4, 7–6(1).
Djokovic was the top seed and won the singles title at the following week's Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. In the final, he defeated fourth-seeded David Ferrer in straight sets to claim his twelfth career title.
A week later, Ferrer beat Djokovic in the Davis Cup World Group first round tie between Spain and Serbia on clay in Spain 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(4). Djokovic then lost to Rafael Nadal the next day in the deciding fourth rubber 6–4, 6–4, 6–1.
Davis Cup
He is good friends with fellow junior graduate (and sometimes doubles partner) Andy Murray, who was part of the British team that Serbia and Montenegro defeated in the Davis Cup in Glasgow in April 2006. Djokovic got the decisive win on April 9, 2006 by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team a 3–1 lead in their best of 5 series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup.
Djokovic has represented Serbia since Montenegro gained independence in June 2006. By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting Serbia to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008 in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjic, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group.
Playing style
Djokovic is an all-court player. His greatest strengths are his groundstrokes, serve, speed, and confidence. His forehand is powerful, deep, well angled, and hit with strong topspin. Djokovic is known for the ability to outhit his opponents from the baseline. When most effective, Djokovic rallies from the baseline just long enough to construct the point and enable himself to hit a winner from an advantageous position. With considerable speed, his serve is one of his major weapons winning many free points from his flatter first serve and employing as his second serve a strong slice served out wide. While very sound and powerful from the baseline, he would often finish his points by coming to the net similar to Roger Federer. He also utilizes a well-disguised backhand underspin dropshot and sliced backhand (groundstroke) in his repertoire. His use of the one-handed backhand drop shot is unusual for players who usually use a two-handed backhand to rally from the baseline.
Apparel and equipment
Djokovic endorses and is sponsored by adidas and Head. He wears the adidas Barricade V shoes and formerly the adidas Edge Group clothing. However, in early 2009, he started a new line of clothes with adidas dubbed 'Falcon' and now plays with shirts representing a falcon at the back of his left sleeve. Djokovic has played with a prototype Head racquet since the start of 2009, reportedly to be released to the public in May. He also uses Tecnifibre X One Biphase Strings.
Career statistics
Grand Slam singles finals (2)
Win
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | 2008 | Australian Open | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2) |
Runner-up
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | 2007 | US Open | Roger Federer | 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4 |
Tennis Masters Cup singles final
Win
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 2008 | Shanghai | Nikolay Davydenko | 6–1, 7–5 |
ATP Masters Series singles finals (6)
Wins (4)
Runner-ups (2)
Career finals (19)
Singles (18)
Wins (12)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) | | Grand Slam (1) | Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (1) | ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (4) | ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (2) | ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (4) |
| | Titles by Surface | | Hard (9) | | Clay (3) | | Grass (0) | | Carpet (0) |
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| No. | Date | Tournament, Location | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | July 17, 2006 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay | Nicolás Massú | 7–6(5), 6–4 | | 2. | October 2, 2006 | Metz, France | Hard (i) | Jürgen Melzer | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 | | 3. | January 1, 2007 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Chris Guccione | 6–3, 6–7(6), 6–4 | | 4. | April 1, 2007 | Key Biscayne, Florida, United States | Hard | Guillermo Cañas | 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 | | 5. | April 29, 2007 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Richard Gasquet | 7–6(7), 0–6, 6–1 | | 6. | August 12, 2007 | Montréal, Canada | Hard | Roger Federer | 7–6(2), 2–6, 7–6(2) | | 7. | October 14, 2007 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | Stanislas Wawrinka | 6–4, 6–0 | | 8. | January 27, 2008 | Australian Open, Melbourne | Hard | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2) | | 9. | March 23, 2008 | Indian Wells, U.S. | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 | | 10. | May 11, 2008 | Rome, Italy | Clay | | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 | 11. | November 16, 2008 | Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai | Hard (i) | Nikolay Davydenko | 6–1, 7–5 | 12. | February 28, 2009 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard | David Ferrer | 7–5, 6–3 |
Runner-ups (6)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) | | Grand Slam (1) | Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0) | ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (2) | ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0) | ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3) |
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| No. | Date | Tournament, Location | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | July 30, 2006 | Umag, Croatia | Clay | | 6–6(1) retired | | 2. | March 18, 2007 | Indian Wells, California, U.S. | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 6–2, 7–5 | | 3. | September 9, 2007 | US Open, New York City | Hard | | 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4 | | 4. | June 15, 2008 | London Queen's Club, United Kingdom | Grass | | 7–6(6), 7–5 | | 5. | August 3, 2008 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Hard | | 7–6(4), 7–6(5) | | 6. | September 28, 2008 | Bangkok, Thailand | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 7–6(4), 6–4 |
Doubles (1)
Runner-up (1)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) | ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament, Location | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | January 7, 2007 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Radek Štepánek | Wesley Moodie &
Todd Perry | 6–4, 3–6, 15-13 |
Singles performance timeline
| SF-B | means winner of the bronze medal match. | | NMS | means neither an ATP Masters Series 1000 event nor an ATP Masters Series event. |
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the Davis Cup World Group first round, which ended 08 March 2009.
ATP Tour career earnings
| Year | Majors | ATP wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | 2006 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | 2007 | 0 | 5 | 5 | | | | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | 2009 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | * | | Career | 1 | 10 | 11 | | |
Challengers and futures titles (6)
| Legend | | Challengers (3) | | Futures (3) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | June 23, 2003 | Belgrade, Serbia | Clay | | 6–4, 7–5 | | 2. | May 3, 2004 | Szolnok, Hungary | Clay | Marko Tkalec | 6–4, 6–2 | | 3. | May 17, 2004 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay | Daniele Bracciali | 6–1, 6–2 | | 4. | August 9, 2004 | Belgrade, Serbia | Clay | Flavio Cipolla | 6–4, 6–3 | | 5. | November 1, 2004 | Aachen, Germany | Carpet | | 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 | | 6. | May 9, 2005 | San Remo, Italy | Clay | | 6–3, 7–6(4) |
See also
External links
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