Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player. He reached the World No. 3 rank on July 9, 2007 after winning the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal and defeated World No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and World No. 1 Roger Federer in the final.

Djokovic reached the 2008 Australian Open final without losing a set (that included defeating the top-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer) and then defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final to earn his and Serbia's first ever Grand Slam singles title. He became the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events.

Djokovic was born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia. He was born to 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 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.

Early Career

In the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005.


Djokovic started the year 2006 ranked World No. 78 in singles. He soon reached the top 40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon. 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 the 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 the tournament in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open 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 Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Canas for the title in the finals. Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the finals. Djokovic 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, losing to eventual champion Nadal. During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis. In his semifinal match against Nadal, he was forced to retire with back and foot problems.

Djokovic then went on to win 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. Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomás 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 Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets.

Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA Tennis. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6-4, 7-6 (4). Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as World No. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.


2008

Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World No. 3 Jelena Janković. 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 in four, tight sets.

Djokovic's next strong result followed quickly with the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, where he lost in the semifinals to World No. 6 and eventual winner Andy Roddick. 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.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. At the French Open in Paris, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals after a grueling match against Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals. 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 and eventual semifinalist 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 again lost to Murray in straight sets.

His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, 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. 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 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 may be of the persuasion to abuse the trainer system. After defeating Roddick, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals, he was booed on the court during in a court side interview after sarcastically noting, "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.
Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai due to Nadal being unable to participate. 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. Djokovic qualified for the semifinals, where he defeated Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first ever Tennis Masters Cup title.


2009

As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former World No. 1 Andy Roddick while he was trailing in the fourth set 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 2-1, due to heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness. His retirement drew criticism from several players remaining in the tournament, who noted that Djokovic had now retired from matches in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. After losing in the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic was the top seed and won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals 6-3, 6-2. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semifinals 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, before losing to Andy Murray in the final.

Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final after defeating Federer. This loss caused Djokovic's ranking to drop to World No. 4 on May 11, ending a streak of 81 consecutive weeks at the number 3 ranking.

In the 2009 French Open, he went in with high expectations and looked comfortable in his first two matches to reach the third round; however, in the third round, he sensationally lost in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to German upsetter Philipp Kohlschreiber. Nadal would also go on to lose in the next round to Sweden's No. 23 Robin Soderling as both of the top betting picks made uncharacteristically early exits.

Djokovic played at Wimbledon in June 2009, and made it to the quarter-finals where he lost to Tommy Haas 5-7, 6-7(6), 6-4, 3-6.