Novak Djokovic – The Juggernaut of 2011
The 6ft 2in tall professional tennis player, Novak Djokovic is currently rated as number two in the tennis world. He is the first individual from Serbia to win a Grand Slam title for his country and the youngest player to have
appeared in the semi-finals of all of the four Grand Slam tournaments. He registered 19 ATP titles to his name and possesses a career winning percentage of over 75.
The winner of two Grand Slams, Djokovic falls in the distinctive category of players who have defeated the tennis god, Roger Federer, on more than one occasion. The 23-years-old Serb had also brought a bronze medal for his country
from the Olympic Games 2008 and headed the Serbian team to win the Davis Cup in 2010. Novak Djokovic is recognised to be the best player ever produced by Serbia and have won The Best Sportsperson award two times in his country.
Djokovic turned pro in 2003 and mainly participated in Futures and Challenger tournaments. He had successfully won these titles thrice each when he got a shot to his first Gran Slam tournament, the Australian Open, in 2005. He
badly lost to Marat Safin in straight sets in his very first match of the grand event.
He reached the number 40 spot in rankings a year later with his appearance in the French Open quarter-final and fourth round at Wimbledon in 2006. His journey up till the fourth round of the Australian Open 2007 and the victory
in the Masters Series at Key Biscayne rocketed Djokovic to the list of top ten professional tennis players.
Djokovic got under the spot light during his run in the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal in 2007. The Serb outplayed world number 3 Andy Roddick and then second seed Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final and semi-final of the
tournament respectively. He took on the world number one player Roger Federer in the final and surprised everyone by defeating him. He became the unique individual to beat the top three players in a single tournament.
“Djokovic is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam,” said the tennis legend Bjorn Borg after Novak’s brilliant performance in the Rogers Cup. He did qualify for the final of the US Open but was devastated by Roger Federer
in straight sets.
The Serb took his revenge by ejecting Federer from the Australian Open 2008 in the semi-final and then defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France to bag his first Grand Slam title. He couldn’t continue his momentum in the later Grand
Slams and was defeated in the semi-finals of the French Open and the US Open.
Djokovic failed to defend his Aussie Open title for the reasons of injury in the quarter-final at the Melbourne Park in 2009 session. Shortly afterwards, the third seed took his twelfth ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals)
title by winning Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. He lost in the quarter-final and semi-final of Wimbledon and the US Open respectively once again.
His victory of the China Open on 19th October 2009 lifted Djokovic to the number three slot in ATP rankings. He had already won two ATP titles in the season, making the China Open his third triumph in the running year.
Novak Djokovic extended his ATP titles count to 18 in the preceding year but his habit of losing in the finals of grand events didn’t let go. Despite of being eliminated in the quarter-final of the Aussie Open, the Serb ascended
to the number two rank in the world, dropping Roger Federer to number three. Federer regained his position in the standings months later when he defeated Djokovic in the last tournament of the year, Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Serb ended the year
as number three in the tennis rankings.
2011 Australian Open proved out to be a dream run for Novak Djokovic as he outshined every competitor he faced, including Roger Federer and Andy Murray, to win his second Grand Slam title.
The Serb’s form has been belligerent since his Grand Slam victory. The Serb has not lost a single match, winning seven ATP championship titles in a row. He is currently running a 40-match winning streak, the second best after the
legendary John McEnroe’s 42-match winning streak in 1984. Djokovic has won every single tournament he has played in 2011, collecting seven titles, including the all-prestigious Australian Open as well.
Djokovic enters the French Open as the hot favourite for winning the second Grand Slam of the year. He has already defeated the world number one Rafael Nadal in the finals of four different tournaments this year and it is greatly
anticipated that the Serb will go on to topple Nadal from the top spot in world rankings by winning Roland Garros this year.
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