Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic
Djokovic with his 2008 Australian Open trophy.
Nickname(s)	Nole,[1] The Djoker[2] Super Novak[3]
Country	Serbia
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Date of birth	May 22, 1987 (1987-05-22) (age 22)
Place of birth	Belgrade, Serbia then Yugoslavia
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Weight	80.0 kg (176 lb/12.60 st)
Turned pro	2003
Plays	Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money	US$ 10,507,627
Singles
Career record:	185 - 68
Career titles:	11
Highest ranking:	No. 3 (July 9 2007)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	W (2008)
French Open	SF (2007, 2008)
Wimbledon	SF (2007)
US Open	F (2007)
Major tournaments
Masters Cup	W (2008)
Olympic Games	Bronze Medal (2008)
Doubles
Career record:	15 - 28
Career titles:	0
Highest ranking:	No. 134 (August 20, 2007)
Mixed Doubles
Career record:	{{{mixedrecord}}}
Career titles:	{{{mixedtitles}}}
Highest ranking:	{{{highestmixedranking}}}
Infobox last updated on: November 17, 2008.

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Serbia
Men's Tennis
Bronze	2008 Beijing	Singles

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, pronounced [ˈnɔvaːk 'ʥɔːkɔviʨ], born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 behind Roger Federer.

In January 2008, he won his first ever Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. After a straight sets win over World No. 1 and defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, Djokovic won the final in four sets against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He thereby became the first player representing Serbia ever to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached all four Grand Slam semifinals.^[4] He was also the runner-up at the 2007 US Open and has reached six Masters Series finals, winning four of them. He reached the semifinals of the 2007 and 2008 French Opens and the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. He also won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in 2008. He also won his first Tennis Masters Cup in November 2008 by defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final.

Biography

Djokovic was born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia, then Yugoslavia. He was born to father Srđan and mother Dijana, and is the oldest of their three sons.^[5] His two younger brothers, Đorđe and Marko, are also tennis players with professional aspirations.^[6] He started playing tennis at the age of four, and was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at the age of eight, who stated "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles."^[5] At twelve years old, he spent three years at Nikola Pilić's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at age fourteen, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.^[5] He currently resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and is coached by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda.^[7]

Djokovic speaks Serbian, Italian and English fluently and often gives interviews and press conferences in all three. He also speaks a bit of German. In 2008, he mentioned in several interviews that he wanted to learn French as he lives in Monte Carlo.

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.^[8]

Tennis career

2003-2005

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

2006

He participated in the 2006 Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian player Ana Ivanović, with the pairing narrowly missing the final.

In May 2006, various reports appeared in the British media about Djokovic's mother Dijana reportedly approaching Britain's Lawn Tennis Association about her son joining British tennis ranks and the possibility of their entire 5-person family moving from Serbia to live in Britain.^[9] All the rumours didn't affect Djokovic's play, however. He started 2006 ranked 78th, but with an excellent path to the quarterfinals at the French Open and a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon, he found himself in the top 40.

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 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

Novak Djokovic at 2007 US Open

Djokovic began the year by winning in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final. At the Australian Open, he lost in the fourth round 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 the Key Biscayne event before defeating the resurgent Guillermo Cañas in the final.

He later played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round in straight sets. At the Estoril Open, Djokovic defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the final. He then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Carlos Moyà and Nadal, respectively.

At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semifinal ever, where he lost to eventual champion Nadal.

During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis 7–6(4), 7–6(9), 6–7(3), 4–6, 7–5. The match lasted just 5 minutes shy of the longest singles match in a single day in Wimbledon history. In his semifinal match, he was forced to retire against Nadal due to a back injury and foot problem. He became the first player to retire from semi-final match at Wimbledon.

Djokovic then won 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. And Djokovic was only the second player, after Tomáš 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)."^[10] However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Carlos Moyà in straight sets.

He nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points on serve in the first set and two against serve in the second set but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. On his way to the final, Djokovic won a nearly five hour second round match against Radek Štěpánek 6–7(4), 7–6(5), 5–7, 7–5, 7–6(2).

After recovering from a minor injury, Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. Djokovic's next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6(4). At the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, he was upset by Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

Djokovic, then assured of finishing the year as World No. 3 and for the first time, he qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup. Djokovic was the first player to arrive. He was also the first player to exit the tournament, losing all three of his round-robin matches in straight sets. He lost to Ferrer 6–4, 6–4; Gasquet 6–4, 6–2; and Nadal 6–4, 6–4.

2008

Djokovic at the Rod Laver Arena during the 2008 Australian Open.

Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World Number 3 Jelena Janković. He won all of his round-robin matches and the team, seeded number one, 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 would make it to the finals of the tournament 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 final appearances. 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. At the age of 20 years and 250 days, he was the youngest male to win the Australian Open singles title since Stefan Edberg in 1985.^[11] This win also enabled him to surpass US$6 million in career prize money.On May 12,2008 Djokovic officially announced his true sexual orientation. He announced he was trisexual.He had gained an affection for his dog, Steve.

At the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, Djokovic was upset by Frenchman Gilles Simon in the second round 6–2, 6–7(6), 6–3. Djokovic's next tournament was the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, where he lost in the semifinals to World No. 6 Andy Roddick 7–6(5), 6–3.

Djokovic at the 2008 Pacific Life Open.

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. At the Masters Series Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Djokovic was upset in the second round by Kevin Anderson 7–6, 3–6, 6–4.

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 7–5, 2–6, 6–2.

At the French Open in Paris, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals 6–4, 6–2, 7–6(3). He 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 in straight sets to former World No. 1, but unseeded, 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 lost to Andy Murray, 7–6(4), 7–6(5).

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. When Nadal came to the net, Djokovic gave him a hug, and then proceeded to later leave the court in tears, barely able to wave to the crowd. 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 #3 seed. During his fourth round match with Tommy Robredo, he was plagued by problems related to both a hip injury, for which he required two time-outs, and exhaustion. Nevertheless, he would go on and win the match in a tough five setter, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. A controversial incident would eventually happen when #8 seed Andy Roddick 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 had a reputation for being injured, as well as giving a list of ailments he thought Djokovic might have. After defeating Roddick, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), in the quarterfinals, he was booed on the court during in a courtside interview, after sarcastically saying "Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match, obviously I don't, right?" Djokovic would later apologize to Roddick, saying that it was a misunderstanding.^[12] His run at the US Open ended at the semifinals when he faced Roger Federer, losing 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2 in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.

At the finals of the Thailand Open, in a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-4.

He was upset in the third round of the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid by Croat Ivo Karlović in straight sets, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) without any breaks of serve during the match. Two weeks later at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, he lost in the third round once again to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing 4-6, 6-1, 3-6.

In November, Djokovic entered the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai as the number 2 seed. In his first round robin match, he defeated Argentine Del Potro in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. He would then go on and beat Nikolay Davydenko in 3 sets, 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-5. Later, he would lose his final round robin match aginst Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1, 5-7, 1-6. However, by having a round robin record of 2-1, Djokovic found his way into the semi-finals of the tournament. In the semi-finals, he defeated Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. In the final, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko once again to win his first ever year-end Tennis Masters Cup title.

Davis Cup

He is good friends with fellow junior graduate (and sometimes doubles partner) Andy Murray, who was part of the British team that Serbia and Montenegro defeated in the Davis Cup in Glasgow in April 2006. Djokovic got the decisive win on April 9, 2006 by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team a 3–1 lead in their best of 5 series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup.

Djokovic has represented Serbia since Montenegro gained independence in June 2006. By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting Serbia to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008 in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group.

Playing style

Djokovic is an all-court player. His greatest strengths lie in his dominant groundstrokes, especially the forehand which are powerful, deep, well angled, and hit with strong topspin, although his preferred groundstroke is the backhand.^[13] With considerable speed, his serve is one of his major weapons winning many free points from his flatter first serve and employing a sharp curving kick serve as his second serve. While very sound and powerful from the baseline, he would often finish his points by coming to the net similar to Roger Federer. He also utilizes a well-disguised backhand underspin dropshot and sliced backhand (groundstroke) in his repertoire.

Apparel & Equipment

Djokovic endorses and is sponsored by Wilson and Adidas; he currently uses the Wilson (K) Factor (K)Blade Tour racquet strung with Champions Choice. Djokovic also wears the Adidas Barricade V shoes and the Adidas Edge Group clothing.

Career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals(2)

Win (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2008	Australian Open	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2)

Runner-up (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2007	US Open	Roger Federer	7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4

Tennis Masters Cup singles finals (1)

Win (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2008	Shanghai	Nikolay Davydenko	6–1, 7–5

ATP Masters Series singles finals (6)

Wins (4)

Year	Tournament	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2007	Miami	Guillermo Cañas	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
2007	Montréal	Roger Federer	7–6(2), 2–6, 7–6(2)
2008	Indian Wells	Mardy Fish	6–2, 5–7, 6–3
2008	Rome	Stanislas Wawrinka	4–6, 6–3, 6–3

Runner-ups (2)

Year	Tournament	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2007	Indian Wells	Rafael Nadal	6–2, 7–5
2008	Cincinnati	Andy Murray	7–6(4), 7–6(5)

Career finals (18)

Singles (17)

Wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament, Location	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	July 17, 2006	Amersfoort, Netherlands	Nicolás Massú	7–6(5), 6–4
2.	October 2, 2006	Metz, France	Jürgen Melzer	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
3.	January 1, 2007	Adelaide, Australia	Chris Guccione	6–3, 6–7(6), 6–4
4.	April 1, 2007	Miami, U.S.	Guillermo Cañas	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
5.	April 29, 2007	Estoril, Portugal	Richard Gasquet	7–6(7), 0–6, 6–1
6.	August 12, 2007	Montréal, (Canada)	Roger Federer	7–6(2), 2–6, 7–6(2)
7.	October 14, 2007	Vienna, Austria	Stanislas Wawrinka	6–4, 6–0
8.	January 27, 2008	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2)
9.	March 23, 2008	Indian Wells, U.S.	Mardy Fish	6–2, 5–7, 6–3
10.	May 11, 2008	Rome, Italy	Stanislas Wawrinka	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
11.	November 16, 2008	Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai	Nikolay Davydenko	6–1, 7–5

Runner-ups (6)

No.	Date	Tournament, Location	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	July 30, 2006	Umag, Croatia	Stanislas Wawrinka	6–6(1) retired
2.	March 18, 2007	Indian Wells, U.S.	Rafael Nadal	6–2, 7–5
3.	September 9, 2007	US Open, New York, U.S.	Roger Federer	7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4
4.	June 15, 2008	London Queen's Club, London	Rafael Nadal	7–6(6), 7–5
5.	August 3, 2008	Cincinnati, U.S.	Andy Murray	7–6(4), 7–6(5)
6.	September 28, 2008	Bangkok, Thailand	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	7–6(4), 6–4

Doubles (1)

Runner-up (1)

No.	Date	Tournament, Location	Partnering	Opponents in Final	Score in Final
1.	January 7, 2007	Adelaide, Australia	Radek Štěpánek	Wesley Moodie & Todd Perry	6–4, 3–6, 15-13

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2008 Paris Masters in Paris, which ended on November 2, 2008.

To help interpret the performance table, the legend below explains what each abbreviation and color coded box represents in the performance timeline.

ATP Tour career earnings

Challengers and futures titles (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	June 23, 2003	Belgrade, Serbia	Clay	Cesar Ferrer-Victoria	6–4, 7–5
2.	May 3, 2004	Szolnok, Hungary	Clay	Marko Tkalec	6–4, 6–2
3.	May 17, 2004	Budapest, Hungary	Clay	Daniele Bracciali	6–1, 6–2
4.	August 9, 2004	Belgrade, Serbia	Clay	Flavio Cipolla	6–4, 6–3
5.	November 1, 2004	Aachen, Germany	Carpet	Lars Burgsmüller	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
6.	May 9, 2005	San Remo, Italy	Clay	Francesco Aldi	6–3, 7–6(4)

References

See also

• Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)
• Serbia Davis Cup team

External links

• Official site (English), Official site (Serbian)
• Novak Djokovic at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Novak Djokovic at the International Tennis Federation
• Novak Djokovic at Davis Cup