Novak Djokovic; Will the Serbian claim his second Grand Slam in 2011? Part one
Probably 2010 was not the perfect year for the Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic on the tour. The right hander did not finish it as the top contender in the world and also posted some early round departures from the competitions where he should have reached
at least the final four rounds.
May be the 23-year-old misjudged his preparations for the season’s opening major event. Perhaps, he took some wrong decisions during the spring months, particularly on his serve from Todd Martin. And quite possibly, in the concluding months, the Monte Carlo
resident wished he had faced the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer on lesser occasions.
However, now when it’s all done for the season, Djokovic still has a lot to feel good as he can look back into 2010 as the year when he put away all his childish things and developed himself as one of the most matured players on the tour.
The highest ranked Serbian made his debut on the ATP tour at just sixteen years of age and only two years later finished 2005 as the youngest contender in the top hundred.
By 2006, the reigning United States Open runner-up had captured two ATP crowns from three title battles and was also the youngest player to finish the season in the top twenty.
The next year did not change the story either as the Belgrade born won five more singles crowns and also reached a major final, to end the season in top ten for the first time on the tour.
Two more milestones were achieved in 2008, as the Serbian won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open as well as his maiden Master singles crown at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in China. Currently ranked number three in the South African Airways
ATP list, Djokovic picked up a total of four crowns from seven title battles in 2008, reached the final four round of French Open and Wimbledon apart from winning the bronze medal at the Olympic Games.
Another important moment for Djokovic in that year came when the Serbian team won the Davis Cup playoffs that confirmed their spot in the World Group next year.
The 2009 came with even a bigger surprise for everyone as the former world number two Djokovic contested in more clashes than anyone else and also triumphed in more than others on the tour. He played in ninety seven matches while won in seventy eight of
them. Djokovic made his way into the quarters or better in nineteen out of twenty two competitions. On his darling hard-court, the Serbian triumphed in twenty nine of thirty three clashes after Montreal in August, finishing with back-to-back crowns in Paris
Masters and Basel.
Even in Rome on clay, Novak got the better of Roger Federer and had a close match against Rafael Nadal in Madrid as well before the Spaniard emerged victorious in the end.
Therefore, Novak Djokovic rode into 2010 on a wave of success, with Todd Martin, his coach on the tour. His reward was the breakdown of Nadal-Federer dominance.
With Nadal requiring treatment on his injured knees after the Australian Open, Djokovic showed his utter determination and thus jumped to number two in the world. A little further into the season, with Rafa back at number one in the rankings, the Serbian
replaced the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer not just once but in fact on two occasions between summer and autumn in 2010.
However, yet, his 2010 season was more of a steady canter than a gallop to the line as examined by his earlier success on the tour.
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