Novak Djokovic: On the rise in 2011
Top Serb, Novak Djokovic got an ideal start to the 2011 season with successful runs at the Australian Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship.
The Serbian did not feature in any of the warm up ATP events for the Australian Open, in the first two weeks of the year. Instead, he preferred playing at the exhibition Hopman Cup, partnering his countrywoman Ana Ivanovic and
did not lose a singles match there. Although he led Serbia to the final, Ivanovic’s abdomen injury forced him to concede the final spot to the Belgians.
He officially started the season at the opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open. The Serbian silenced his critics, who called him a one slam wonder, by winning the opening grand slam of the season. He defeated the Brit, Andy Murray,
in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in the final to capture his second Australian Open title and also his second grand slam trophy. The Serb had last captured a title here in 2008 when he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
On his way to the Australian Open final, Djokovic thrashed Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. In the second round, the right handed was taken to four sets by Ivan Dodig of Croatia. However, Djokovic won
the match 7-5, 6-7(8), 6-0, 6-2. His compatriot Viktor Troicki was forced to retire due to injury in the third round, when the world number 3 led him 6-2. In the fourth round, he comfortably defeated Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. In the quarterfinals,
the Serbian took the revenge of his Wimbledon loss at the hands of Tomas Berdych, by beating him 6-1, 7-6(5), 6-1. Djokovic defeated the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-4 in the semi-final.
The Australian Open champion pulled out of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament due to a shoulder injury.
Djokovic played his first tour level event for the season in Dubai when he competed at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship as the second seed. Playing his first round match against Michael Llodra, the Serb
clinched an easy victory as he defeated the Frenchman with twin set scores of 6-3, 6-3. He defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round. In the quarterfinals, the Serbian prevailed over Florian Mayer of Germany 7-5, 6-1. He did not get a good
start to his semi-final match against Tomas Berdych. However, he got the win when his opponent retired in the third set due to injury. Djokovic faced the top seeded Swiss, Federer, in the final. He rose to the occasion as he beat the world
number two in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to clinch his second title of the season and complete his hat-trick of titles in Dubai.
Djokovic is in the form of his life. The Serbian has not lost a match this season, winning all the 12 matches he has played so far. He is also on a career best 14 match winning streak, which dates back to his two wins at the Davis
Cup last year which helped his country defeat France in the final.
Pete Sampras, the 14 time grand slam champion, said about Djokovic that the Serbian is a great mover. He can quickly change his game and shift from defence to offence better than any current player.
It took Djokovic 12 tries to win his second grand slam, after his first grand slam win at the Australian Open in 2008. However, with his current form, everyone is expecting that the Serbian will not take much time to win his third
grand slam.
The current world number 3 is just over 100 points behind the second ranked Federer in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. He is expected to replace the Swiss soon, as the second best player of the world.
Tags: