Novak Djokovic was born May 22, 1987, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to father Srđan and mother, Dijana. His two younger brothers, Marko and Djordje, are also tennis players with professional aspirations.Since the end of 2005 Novak has been dating Jelena Ristić.
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."[9] At 12 years old, he spent three months at Nikola Pilić's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at age 14, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.[9] He currently resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and has been coached by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda; in August 2009 he also began working with former US top-five player Todd Martin.
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.[11] He also did an impression of American tennis great John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker.
Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.
Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self described fan of languages, speaking 4 himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.
Tennis career
Early career
As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team he reached the finals of 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.
In the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he faced Filippo Volandri in the Round of 32, and lost 6–7(5), 1–6. He made his first Grand Slam appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open where he met Marat Safin, as his first round opponent which he lost 6–0, 6–2, 6–1. Safin went on to win the tournament.
2006
The possibility for their entire 5-person family to move from Serbia to live in Britain involved immense dedication.[16] All the rumours did not affect Djokovic's play. He soon reached the top 40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon.
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 the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
2007
Djokovic began the year by winning the tournament in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open 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 Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.
djokovic tennis
djokovic player
In 2011 Djokovic started in the Australian exhibition Hopman Cup, where he did not lose a match. Djokovic then moved on to the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded 3rd behind Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer. He started off his Australian Open campaign by beating Marcel Granollers in the first round 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 and then moved on to play Ivan Dodig, defeating him in four sets 7–5, 6–7 (8), 6–0, 6–2. His Davis Cup teammate and close friend Viktor Troicki retired in the 3rd round due to injury, with Djokovic leading 6–2. In the 4th round he swiftly defeated Nicolas Almagro of Spain again winning in straight sets 6–3, 6–4, 6–0. In the quarter-finals, he avenged his loss to Tomáš Berdych at the Wimbledon by winning 6–1, 7–6 (5), 6–1. He then beat defending champion Roger Federer in straight sets 7–6 (3), 7–5, 6–4 to reach the final, where he defeated Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 for his second Australian Open championship and second grand slam.Djokovic's next tournament was at the ATP World Tour 500 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships in UAE, where he was seeded 2nd. He was the two-time defending champion and favourite for the title alongside the 1st seed Roger Federer. He dismissed Michaël Llodra in a lopsided first round encounter, winning 6–3, 6–3. He reached the final after then beating Lopez, Mayer and Berdych (who retired). In the final he beat Federer in two surprisingly lopsided sets 6–3, 6–3 to complete his hattrick of titles (in other words, winning the tournament three consecutive times) in Dubai.
Djokovic then played in 2011 BNP Paribas Open, the first ATP Masters of the season, as the third seed. He advanced to the final by beating Roger Federer in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 to set up a clash with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. Djokovic continued his fine winning form by claiming the Indian Wells title, beating Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the final and extending his winning streak since the ATP World Tour Finals to 20 consecutive matches.
By defeating Federer in the semi-finals, his ranking rose to World No. 2 on 21 March 2011. Consequently, he was seeded second in the second ATP Masters tournament of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Miami. Djokovic then succeeded to reach his fourth consecutive final of the year, losing only eighteen games en route where he beat Denis Istomin 6–0, 6–1, James Blake 6–2, 6–0, Viktor Troicki 6–3, 6–2, Kevin Anderson 6–4, 6–2, and Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–1. In the final, Djokovic beat Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 (4) in a match that lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes. By this victory, Djokovic extended his winning streak to 26 consecutive matches and has yet to lose a singles match in the season. He is also the first player to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Masters triple, since Roger Federer succeeded in 2006.
Djokovic then withdrew from the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters citing a knee injury. Consequently, he opened his clay court season on home soil at the 2011 Serbia Open in Belgrade. As the 1st seed, he receives a bye into the second round, where he defeated Adrian Ungur 6–2, 6–3 to open up his clay campaign. In the quarter-final, he defeated Blaž Kavčič 6–3, 6–2. With the withdrawal of Janko Tipsarević in the semi-finals, Djokovic reached his fifth consecutive final where he beat Feliciano Lopez 7–6 (4), 6–2, in just over 2 hours. This brought his winning streak to 29 (and 27 from the beginning of this season).
His next tournament was the fourth ATP Masters of the year, the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. As the second seed, he received a bye into the second round where he defeated Kevin Anderson 6–3, 6–4. In the third round, he demolished Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6–1, 6–2 winning 100% of points on his 1st serve. In the quarter-finals, Djokovic toughed it out against World No. 6 David Ferrer of Spain by winning 6–4, 4–6, 6–3. This win allowed Djokovic to surpass Ivan Lendl's record of 29–0 from the beginning of the season. He then defeated an in-form Thomaz Bellucci 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 in the semifinals to set up a final clash with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. He then beat Nadal in straight sets 7–5, 6–4, extending his win streak to 34 (and 32 from the beginning of the season).
He continued his winning streak in Rome Masters, 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia by beating Lukasz Kubot, Stanislas Wawrinka and Robin Söderling without dropping a set. In the semis, he beat Andy Murray 6–1, 3–6, 7–6 (2), in a thrilling match that Tennis Channel commentator Robbie Koenig said was the best of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the final for the fourth consecutive time in 2011 to extend his winning streak to 39 (and 37 from the beginning of the season).
In the French Open, Djokovic was seeded number 2 after Nadal. He defeated Thiemo de Bakker, Victor Hanescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet dropping only one set to reach the quarterfinals. Djokovic was due to play against Fabio Fognini of Italy, but his opponent withdrew from the competition, giving Djokovic a walkover (not an official victory). Djokovic's winning streak ended in the semifinals at 43 matches (41 occurring in 2011), with a 4 set loss to Roger Federer, 6–7 (5), 3–6, 6–3, 6–7 (5).
At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships he defeated Jeremy Chardy, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Baghdatis, Michaël Llodra and Bernard Tomic to reach his fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal.[47] He defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 4 sets to make his first appearance in the final. By reaching the final, Djokovic ensured that he would become world #1 for the first time in his career at the tournament's end, even if Nadal won the championship. Djokovic then defeated Nadal to win the championship, 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3. It was Djokovic's fifth straight win over Nadal, all of them in finals, and it was his first victory over Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament at his sixth attempt.
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