2011 Miami Masters: Novak Djokovic vs. Viktor Troicki – Preview
World Number two Novak Djokovic set up a fourth round match against compatriot and friend Viktor Troicki at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, after clearing his third round match against American pro James Blake with an impressive scoreline
of 6-2, 6-0. World Number 17 Viktor Troicki, on the other hand, defeated another American player Sam Querrey 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5 in his third round match at the Miami Masters.
The two Serbian players have played against each other nine times prior to this match, with Djokovic winning eight matches. The only match which Troicki managed to win was their first one, when they met on the clay courts of Umag
in 2007. Djokovic took revenge for the loss in his next match against Troicki in 2009, winning their clay quarterfinal at Belgrade in straight sets.
This will be the third meeting between the two Serbians in 2011, as they also confronted each other on the hard courts of Melbourne. Djokovic and Troicki met in the third round of the Australian Open, and the current World Number
2 took the first set 6-2 before Troicki opted to retire from the match. Novak Djokovic went on to win his first Australian Open title.
Djokovic and Troicki have competed against each other six times over the last two years, with their most recent meeting taking place just weeks ago at the 2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells. The Djoker, who has been
playing exemplary tennis this year, ousted his compatriot in easy straights 6-0, 6-1 to win the fourth round.
Although the match will probably be yet another easy victory for Djokovic, who says he is “playing the best tennis of his life”, the fact remains that the two players are not just countrymen but also friends. This puts both of
them in a position where neither winning nor losing are comfortable options, although that has not stopped Djokovic in the past and probably never will.
When asked about how he felt about playing Troicki, Djokovic declared, “it’s never easy to play your friend, but we’re both professionals. We both want to win the match.”
Djokovic has been on a winning streak this year, and has not yet lost a single match in 2011. He overtook former World Number 1 Roger Federer on the ATP Rankings just days ago, becoming World Number 2 behind Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
In addition to this, he has also proven himself to be one of the most serious contenders of the year; media are already buzzing with the possibility of the Serbian pro becoming the next big tennis champion. If he wins the Miami event, the player will increase
his position on the ATP rankings by a thousand points.
Tags: