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Novak Djokovic

Djokovic with his 2008 Australian Open trophy.
Country (sports)	Serbia
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	2003
Plays	Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Prize money	US$ 8,329,932
Singles
Career record	170 - 63
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 3 (July 9 2007)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (2008)
French Open	SF (2007, 2008)
Wimbledon	SF (2007)
US Open	F (2007)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2007)
Olympic Games	Bronze Medal (2008)
Doubles
Career record	15 - 26
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 134 (August 20 2007)
Last updated on: August 25, 2008.

Olympic medal record
Representing  Serbia
Men's Tennis
	2008 Beijing	Singles

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, IPA: [ˈnɔvaːk 'ʥɔːkɔviʨ], born May 22 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player and current World No. 3.

In January 2008, he won his first 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.

Djokovic was the runner-up at the 2007 US Open and has reached six Masters Series finals, winning four of them. He also reached the semifinals of the 2007 and 2008 French Opens and the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. On his debut appearance at the Olympic Games (Beijing 2008), Djokovic defeated James Blake of the United States to win a bronze medal.

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. His two younger brothers, Đorđe and Marko, are also tennis players with professional aspirations. Djokovic started playing tennis at the age of four, and when eight was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić, who stated "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles."

At twelve, he spent three years at Nikola Pilić's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at fourteen his international career began. He won European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition. He resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and is coached by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda.

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 Moya, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.

In February 2008, Djokovic conveyed his support via video link to a mass rally in Belgrade against Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia.

Djokovic speaks Serbian and English fluently. He also speaks a bit of Italian and German. In 2008, he said in several interviews that he wanted to learn French as he lives in Monte-Carlo.

Novak Djokovic is close friends with fellows Janko Tipsarević, Jelena Janković and Ana Ivanović, whom he knows from the age of 5. He is also friends with fellow Nenad Zimonjić, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.

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. 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 Nicolas Massu 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

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 well into the world's top ten. In those tournaments, which were his first and second Masters Series finals, he defeated Andy Murray in the semifinals without dropping a set in either match. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal but defeated Nadal in the Key Biscayne event before defeating the resurgent Guillermo Canas 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 Moya 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.

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 Tomas Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players players in the world. After this tournament, Bjorn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)." However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Carlos Moya 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 Stepanek 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, went to Shanghai for the Tennis Masters Cup, being the first player to arrive. He was also the first player to exit the tournament, losing all three of his round-robin matches to Ferrer 6–4, 6–4; Gasquet 6–4, 6–2; and Nadal 6–4, 6–4.

2008

Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World Number 3 Jelena Jankovic. 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 defeated the top-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals 7–5, 6–3, 7–6(5). This ended at ten Federer's streak of consecutive Grand Slam finals. Djokovic also became the first person to beat Federer in straight sets in a Grand Slam tournament since Gustavo Kuerten in 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. This win also enabled Djokovic to surpass US$6 million in career prize money.

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.

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 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. In the final, he lost to Andy Murray 7–6(4), 7–6(5).

His next tournament was the 2008 Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjic, seeded number two in the doubles event, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner. Seeded number three in the singles draw, Novak proceeded to make the semis where he was beaten in three sets 6–4, 1–6, 64 by Spain's Rafael Nadal. Djokovic played the loser of the other Semi-Final, America's James Blake in the Bronze Medal match, which he won 6–3, 7–6(4).

Davis Cup

He is good friends with fellow junior graduate (and sometimes doubles partner) Andy Murray, who was part of the Great Britain 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. He now represents Serbia, since Montenegro gained independence in June 2006. By winning all of his three matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting Serbia to World Group in 2008, where it is scheduled to play against the first seeded Russia, 8 – 10 February 2008. During the tie in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match in the match against Russia. He returned to win his doubles match with Nenad Zimonjic before being forced to retire during his match with Nikolay Davydenko. He was leading by two sets to one when he was forced off with dizziness.

Playing style

Djokovic is an all-court player. His greatest strengths includes his dominant groundstrokes, especially the forehand which are powerful, deep, well angled, and hit with strong topspin, although his preferred groundstroke is the backhand. 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. Djokovic, while very sound and powerful from the baseline, often finishes 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.

Equipment

Djokovic endorses/is sponsored by Wilson and adidas; he is currently using the Wilson Blade Tour racquet strung with Wilson Champions Choice. Djokovic also wears the adidas Barricade V shoes and the adidas Edge Group clothing. Adidas allowed Djokovic to wear Nike shoes at Wimbledon in 2008.

Career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals (2)

Wins (2)

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

Runner-up (1)

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

ATP Masters Series singles finals (6)

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
2007	Miami	Guillermo Canas	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
2007	Montréal (Canada)	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	Championship	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 (16)

Singles (15)

Wins (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	July 17, 2006	Amersfoort	Clay	Nicolas Massu	7–6(5), 6–4
2.	October 2, 2006	Metz	Hard (I)	Jurgen Melzer	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
3.	January 1, 2007	Adelaide	Hard	Chris Guccione	6–3, 6–7(6), 6–4
4.	April 1, 2007	Miami	Hard	Guillermo Canas	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
5.	April 29, 2007	Estoril	Clay	Richard Gasquet	7–6(7), 0–6, 6–1
6.	August 12, 2007	Montréal (Canada)	Hard	Roger Federer	7–6(2), 2–6, 7–6(2)
7.	October 14, 2007	Vienna	Hard (I)	Stanislas Wawrinka	6–4, 6–0
8.	January 27, 2008	Australian Open, Melbourne	Hard	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2)
9.	March 23, 2008	Indian Wells	Hard	Mardy Fish	6–2, 5–7, 6–3
10.	May 11, 2008	Rome	Clay	Stanislas Wawrinka	4–6, 6–3, 6–3

Runner-ups (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	30 July, 2006	Umag	Clay	Stanislas Wawrinka	6–6(1) retired
2.	18 March, 2007	Indian Wells	Hard	Rafael Nadal	6–2, 7–5
3.	9 September, 2007	US Open, New York City	Hard	Roger Federer	7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4
4.	15 June, 2008	Queen's Club	Grass	Rafael Nadal	7–6(6), 7–5
5.	August 3, 2008	Cincinnati	Hard	Andy Murray	7–6(4), 7–6(5)

Doubles (1)

Runner-up (1)

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

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 Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, which ended on July 27, 2008.

Template:Performance timeline legend

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 Burgsmuller	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
6.	May 9, 2005	San Remo, Italy	Clay	Francesco Aldi	6–3, 7–6(4)

References

1. "The Official Internet Site of Novak Djokovic: Biography". Retrieved 2008-07-19.
2. Pearce, Linda (2008-01-12). "The man they call the Djoker". The Age. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/?playernumber=D643
4. ^ "The Official Internet Site of Novak Djokovic: Biography". Retrieved 2008-07-19.
5. MacPherson, Paul (2007-09-10). "Joker in the Pack Holds All the Aces". DEUCE Magazine, summer 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
6. "ITF Tennis - Mens Circuit - Player Biography". Retrieved 2007-08-14.
7. MacPherson, Paul (2007-09-10). "Joker in the Pack Holds All the Aces". DEUCE Magazine, summer 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
8. "Serbs Rage at U.S. Over Kosovo". Time. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
9. Hodgkinson, Mark (2006-05-17). "Serbian may join British ranks". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
10. "Borg: 'Djokovic can win a Grand Slam'". BlackRock Tour of Champions. 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
11. Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic Australian Open Preview. Tennis-X.com. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
12. Cooper, Jeff. "Novak Djokovic - Game Profile". Retrieved 2008-05-20. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. Player Profile: Novak Djokovic (SRB)
14. Novak Djokovic Switches Adidas For Nike At Wimbledon?

See also

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

External links

• Official site Template:En icon, Official site Template:Sr icon
• Novak Djokovic at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• {{ITF profile}} template using deprecated numeric ID.
• Novak Djokovic at the Davis Cup

Template:Persondata

Template:Link FA

• 1987 births
• Living people
• Australian Open champions
• Serbian tennis players
• People from Belgrade
• Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Olympic tennis players of Serbia
• Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia