AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2008

Fotografija copyright Goran Dojcinovic 2008

The man they call the Djoker
January 12, 200

TELL people that you have just interviewed Novak Djokovic and the first question they ask is: was he funny?

Djokovic is, after all, famous for outing his inner John Travolta in a tight white suit on a Montreal catwalk, stripping off at the barest excuse, singing all-night karaoke with Maria Sharapova in New York, and mimicking his friends and rivals down to the last nervous tic or underwear tug.

Clearly, he is a born entertainer, even if not everyone would have chuckled at his joke during Perth’s Hopman Cup about enjoying mixed doubles because it affords him the best view of his partner bending over at the net. Yet nor, any longer, is there any doubt that Djokovic has the substance, and results, to match his extrovert’s flash.

He reached his first grand slam final at the US Open, has ridden his all-court game to No. 3 with a bullet and has Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal looking over their shoulders with, perhaps, a small degree of irritation. But is Djokovic a showman, or, simply, a show-off?

“Ah , no, no, no, no,” Djokovic protests, aghast. “If I have to choose between these two things, I would say showman, for sure. Even though now I’m pretty popular in my country and tennis is the No. 1 sport, and I’m very flattered that the people recognise me and come up and give me compliments, I’m more a person who likes to have privacy and peace.

“Since the first moment I started to watch tennis on the TV, I started to imitate all these players, and I did it all throughout my career, but now the people started noticing it more because of my popularity and my success I had on the court. Some people say I just do it to get all the attention on me, to show off, but it’s not true.

“I’m trying to enjoy my lie as much as I can and I know that tennis hopefully is going to be my life the next 10, 15 years. I’m going to travel the tour, I’m going to visit more or less the same place, so you have to take it more or less in a positive way, and take everything with a smile — bring out the positive energy, make the people laugh, enjoy yourself, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Anyone lamenting the sport’s lack of personalities should dial-a-Djokovic. His official website has its star in three poses, including one emphasising his “irresistible charm”. In John McEnroe’s words, he is “cocky, but in a good way”, and perhaps that is the best description, although his sometime Australian volleying coach, Mark Woodforde, offered some advice during last year’s net tutorials about not overdoing the funster routine and giving rivals cause to feel miffed.

“You can beat them with your racquet; that’s what disturbs them. Don’t give them any extra (motivation) by trying to take off Nadal, picking your pants out of your bum,” says Woodforde. “In a particular time and place, the crowd will love it, but you don’t need to overdo it, and I think he gets that, but sometimes I think that youthful exuberance takes over.

“Has he got up Roger’s nose? Yes, and probably up Rafa’s a little bit, as well. How nice is it when there’s two of you standing up at the top of the mountain, you don’t want to share it around, but then all of a sudden someone comes barging up and clawing at you and it can hurt. Novak has left some marks on them, so I don’t know whether they’re worried that he could knock them off, or it’s just that the personalities haven’t meshed. It could be both.”

Even Djokovic admits that he senses a slight edge to his relationship with Federer, whose greatness as “the most complete player that this sport ever had” the young Serb goes to great pains to emphasise. Federer described as “insignificant” his loss in the Montreal fi nal, and has not always been as effusive with his praise as for other wannabe contenders. Could Roger, for whatever reason, be just a little bit niggly?

“It might be, yeah, because of the results, and obviously he feels that I’m slightly coming closer,” Djokovic said. “I just got to that third place of the world, I had two major wins in 2007, in Montreal and Miami, I played finals of the grand slam, semi-finals (of the French), so I had some pretty impressive results, and probably because of that it might change.

“Not everybody can like what I do, and if you feel that somebody is coming up closer to you and starting the rivalry and everything, you maybe change your position to him. Me, I don’t have a different opinion about him or either Rafa. They are my rivals, I can say, but they are my colleagues, as well, in the life and in the business. I see a lot of them during the year and I really respect them both, because I think they are fantastic players, especially Roger, for me.”

McEnroe has said he believes an unusual lack of reverence is part of the key to Djokovic’s success, while Woodforde believes it can also be costly at times, recalling an example of harmless bravado during a Channel Seven promo for last year’s fourth-round match at the Australian Open, in which the challenger predicted boldly that he would beat the champ. Then again, what was he supposed to say? That he expected to lose bravely in three sets?

“That reverberated around the lockerroom, got back to Roger, who probably thought, ‘I’m going to take care of the guy tonight’ and he did,” said Woodforde.

“So it’s added a bit of juice to their rivalryand, hopefully, it does become a great rivalry, because that’s what we need. I wouldn’t think that Roger or Rafael dislike Novak, they’re just very much aware he’s becoming a very good player.”

That much is not in dispute, and Djokovic has expected nothing less. He first declared he would be No. 1 about seven or eight years ago and nothing has caused his belief — or that of his family, including talented younger brothers Marko, the Serbian 16-and-under champion, and precocious Djorde, the 11-year-old Novak rates as the bigger talent — to waver since then.

Still, it has been quite a ride. Two years ago in Australia, he was the loud guy with the odd Beefeater-style helmet of hair who entertained the crowd with his antics at the Hopman Cup. Last year he returned as the youngest player in the top 20, to win the Adelaide title and then reach the last 16 at the Open. Now, as Lleyton Hewitt concedes, two has become three at the top of the game, and there is a long gap to fourth.

Yet while doubts remain in some circles about his ability under intense pressure or in extreme adversity — it is hard, for example, to imagine Hewitt retiring from a Wimbledon semi-final with blisters — there is also plenty to admire. “I love his head — he’s such a smart guy out there,” says Martina Navratilova. “I like his attitude, on and off the court.”

Even though, on the surface, there is not one thing he does spectacularly well. There’s no Sampras serve, no Agassi return, no Federer forehand.

What Djokovic does is almost everything extremely competently, on every surface, and he hired Woodforde for two stints last year to improve the one part that is lacking: his net game.

So what does Djokovic like about the way Djokovic plays?

"I like my groundstrokes, I can say. I like it. That's my game — I'm a groundstroke player and I play pretty aggressive. I like the fast rallies, I try to be pretty fast on the court and I spend quite a bit of energy which I will try to work on in the near future to reduce this spending of energy a little bit more and make my serve a little bit varied and get more free points, and, of course, to use my opportunities so I can get to the net."

It was not surprising Woodforde noted that Djokovic was a man in a hurry, worrying at first that he would have to spend hours and hours on the blue-collar approach work just behind the service line, and wanting to immediately storm the net to make a spectacular winner. "I had to just get it across to him that it doesn't happen overnight," says Woodforde.

Yet so much else seems to have done. Barely out of his teens, the Serbian is 2-6 against Nadal and 1-5 with Federer, but all three wins have come in the past year, and on hardcourts, and so the Australian Open appeals as one of his best grand slam opportunities.

Second-year blues? Andy Roddick offers a cautionary note. "It will be interesting this year to see how Novak goes. He had a good year last year, now he is No. 3 in the world, and people will be coming after him. It's going to be a new position for him."

Djokovic had already been warned about the difficulties of following up a breakthrough year, but refuses to approach 2008 negatively or nervously. "I'm really looking forward to this season, because I know I have enough quality to be one of the best players of the world and I know I have enough quality to be one of the favourites for every grand slam, so this is one of my priority goals."

So, to a lesser but still important degree, is his need to reduce the ridiculously excessive ball-bouncing that has become an habitual part of his service routine. His record, is, incredibly, 36 for the first serve and 29 — on the same point — for the second. Never mind the spectators' frustration; his back is now also starting to show the strain.

"This is something that came along this year which is, I think, a bad habit, and it can hurt me. I'm bending so much time when I'm bouncing, the muscle gets tight, and after a while it gets tired and sore and that's the main reason why I have back problems. This is something that comes from my head, it's a mental problem and hopefully in the future I can work that out. I hope to get down to 10, maximum. I don't need more!"

What Djokovic would like is the week of practice he is seeking with his idol, Pete Sampras, whose 1993 Wimbledon victory was Djokovic's great inspiration, but whom he never saw play in person and has never met. It may happen in March, before Indian Wells and Miami, with the possibility of some exhibition matches attached, but that is still to be confirmed. Two greater opposites it is hard to imagine, and Djokovic admits they have little in common, either in game or personality.

All of this leaves one last question to be answered: was Novak Djokovic funny? The answer: not strictly speaking, but he was marvellously accommodating, expansive — the answer to his first question ran for nearly 300 words — and appealing. If Djokovic is a show-off, the game needs more of them.

Fotografija copyright Goran Dojcinovic 2008

Linda Pearce
January 15, 2008

Jankovic prevails after bad day gets worse

JELENA Jankovic suspected she might be in for a difficult day when the courtesy car that collected her from her city hotel started heading towards the wrong park: Albert. The driver had mistakenly thought his passenger was about to practise, not play. How wrong he was.

When eventually she arrived at the other park, Melbourne, the third seed played, and played, and played, extended for three hours and nine minutes and forced to save three match points against teenager Tamira Paszek.

The unseeded Austrian served for the match five times in the third set amid 10 consecutive breaks, only for Jankovic to prevail somehow 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 and avoid becoming only the second top-four women's seed to be eliminated in the first round in 20 years.

The match fell 24 minutes short of the time record set in the late-night 1996 marathon between Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Chanda Rubin, and Jankovic admitted she had not even been aware of the third-set score. She knew only that she was behind. And that she needed assistance.

"I was praying, actually," Jankovic admitted. "I have to be honest. I was praying, 'Please, God, help me get out of the situation'. You know, I didn't want to go home, and that was what was driving me, what was pushing me to go forward.

"And I never gave up. I always thought that somehow I can get through this match, and that's what happened. I really am thankful how everything happened. And really I was lucky."

Fortunate, too, that Jankovic did not end up taking an unscheduled detour to Albert Reserve. Yet the practice court will beckon today, for 66 reasons; the number of Jankovic's unforced errors in a match from which she took heart nevertheless.

"This is important to somehow find a way when the things are not going well, when you're not playing well, don't feel that great on the court, it's important, and it will give me confidence, for sure," she said.

"I didn't play well, I'm not happy with that part, but just mentally, finding a way to win and hanging in there in those tough situations is what I'm really proud of. I gave her so many gifts throughout the match, and I was just saying to myself, 'Make her play'. I mean, I didn't want to beat myself at the end, especially."

The Serb struggled through the Hopman Cup with a buttock strain and lost early in Sydney, her world ranking dipping from three to four as a result, although back soreness that required extended courtside treatment and pain relief was what troubled Jankovic yesterday.

As did a tenacious opponent already anointed as one of the game's brightest young things. Jankovic predicted the 17-year-old, already ranked 39th, would graduate soon near the top of the senior class. This was not her day, but there will be others and Paszek even surprised the owner of one of the world's best backhands with the quality of her own.

Lindsay Davenport was forced to earn her win over Italian Sara Errani — earn being the key word.

In winning 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, Davenport officially became the highest prizemoney earning female athlete of all time. Her career takings stand at $21,897,50, overtaking Steffi Graf. She is being hunted in women's sport takings by Annika Sorenstam.

Playing at her first grand slam event since giving birth, Davenport admitted that her performance yesterday was her worst since returning to tennis. Consequently, she had to work hard for the win.

"It was definitely the most challenging match I've had since coming back. You know, I was so excited about coming back here and a lot of anticipation. Ironically, I played the worst that I've played since I've been back.

"A lot of factors were involved in that. It was quite windy. She played very, very well and was making me not hit the ball so cleanly. But at the end of the day, I got through it."

Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, a former Open winner, had a bizarre match against Tatiana Poutchek. She began sluggishly, dropping the first set in a tie-breaker 6-7 (8-10), then changed up her game to sweep the last two sets 6-0, 6-0.

Afterwards, Mauresmo was phlegmatic. "It's the first round. I haven't played much. Whether it's in tournaments or in the last week, I haven't practised much because of my adductor (injury)."

With MICHAEL GLEESON

Fotografija copyright Goran Dojcinovic 2008

 

Srbija 100 odsto
B. C., 15.01.2008 18:11:56 Ocena: 4.50 (Glasova: 8) Komentara: 1

POSLE prvog dana, kada je Srbiju pobedom obradovala samo Jelena Janković, u utorak su naši teniseri na Otvorenom prvenstvu Australije ostvarili stopostotan učinak - tri od tri! Prvo se Novak Đoković poigrao sa Nemcem Benjaminom Bekerom, zatim je Janko Tipsarević dobio njemu svojstven maratonski meč protiv Džozefa Sirijanija, da bi tačku na uspešan dan stavila Ana Ivanović trijumfom nad mladom Rumunkom Soranom Kirsteom. Tako su očekivanja opravdana i u drugom kolu Melburna naša zemlja će imati četiri predstavika.
Drugi dan su istovremeno otvorili Đoković i Tipsarević. Obojica su startovali furiozno, a onda je svako otišao na svoju stranu. Đoković na zasluženi odmor, a Tipsarević u dugo putovanje u narednu rundu.
Novak je očitao lekciju sasvim solidnom Nemcu Benjaminu Bekeru - 6:0, 6:2, 7:6 (7:5). Služio ga je prvi servis, brejk lopte je koristio skoro stoprocentno, izlazio je na mrežu pravovremeno i uspešno. Očigledno je da srpskom teniseru izuzetno prija nova podloga, koja je gotovo identična onoj sa turnira US open serije, na kojima je Đoković blistao minule jeseni.
- Dobro sam počeo, s obzirom na to da sam pre početka meča bio veoma nervozan. U trećem setu sam izgubio ritam, umalo i set. Dobro je što nisam, jer je dobar osećaj kada se to ne desi u prvom meču na turniru - rekao je Đoković, koji će u drugom kolu igrati sa Simoneom Bolelijem iz Italije (70. na ATP listi), s kojim se do sada nije sastajao. - Ljudi od mene očekuju da daleko stignem, jer sam prošle godine imao dobre rezultate na tvrdim podlogama. Ipak, trudim se da ne razmišljam previše o tome i fokusiram se samo na svoju igru.
Činilo se da će i Tipsarević lako eliminisati Sirijanija kada je poveo sa 2:0 u setovima. Ali, onda je usledio strahovit pad u igri od kojeg se na spektakularan način oporavio u petom setu - 7:5, 6:2, 6:7, 0:6, 6:0. Posle tri sata i 42 minuta igre i 25 odserviranih asova, Janko se prvi put u karijeri plasirao u drugo kolo Australijen opena, gde ga čeka 25. nosilac, Španac Fernando Verdasko. On će Tipsareviću biti poslednja prepreka na putu do okršaja sa Rodžerom Federerom.
Muku je mučila i Ana Ivanović protiv 106. igračice sveta Sorane Kirstee iz Rumunije - 7:5, 6:3. Naša teniserka je morala na terenu da provede potpuno neočekivanih sat i 38 minuta...
- U prvom setu sam se pomalo uspaničila i pokušavala da pronađem svoju igru, ali sam zaista srećna što sam prošla dalje i nadam se da ću se popraviti u nastavku turnira - rekla je Ana.Rumunska teniserka je u prvom setu čak i servirala za 1:0, ali je Ivanovićeva uspela da preokrene, a zatim u drugom delu igre osvoji pet uvodnih gemova i stekne nedostižnu prednost. Anu u drugom kolu očekuje još teži rival - 40. igračica sveta, Italijanka Garbin.

FEDERER IZGUBIO SAMO TRI GEMA
ZNAČAJNIJI rezultati drugog dana - teniseri: (1) Federer - Hartfild 6:0, 6:3, 6:0, (19) Hjuit - Darsis 6:0, 6:3, 6:0, (12) Blejk - Masu 6:3, 6:2, 6:2, (15) Bagdatis - Johanson 7:6, 6:2, 3:6, 6:3, (7) Gonzales - Ekonomidis 6:4, 7:6, 6:1, Safin - Gulbis 6:0, 6:4, 7:6, (10) Nalbandijan - Smits 6:1, 6:1, 7:6, (5) Ferer - Vazelin 6:2, 6:2, 6:1, Spadea - (30) Štepanek 2:6, 2:6, 7:5, 6:2, 6:3...
Teniserke: (8) V. Vilijams - Jan 6:2, 7:5, (2) Kuznjecova - Dehi 6:3, 6:1, (9) Hantuhova - King 6:3, 7:5, Arvidson - (10) Bartoli 6:7, 6:4, 6:3, (14) Petrova - Prat 6:1, 6:3, Makarova - (20) Savaj 3:6, 6:4, 7:5...

JELENA UMALO ZAKASNILA
JELENA Janković umalo nije zakasnila na meč prvog kola protiv Tamire Pašek, pošto je službeni vozač našu teniserku povezao je ka Albert parku, umesto u Melburn park! Naime, dotični gospodin je mislio da Jelena ide na trening, ali je naša teniserka srećom na vreme uvidela da putuje na sasvim pogrešnu stranu i skrenula pažnju vozaču da promeni pravac.
 

NA putu Rodžera Federera ka četvrtoj kruni Otvorenog prvenstva Australije mogla bi da se nađu dva Srbina. "Projektovani" rival u trećem kolu je Janko Tipsarević, a bude li sve teklo prema očekivanjima - u polufinalu će naspram Švajcarca stajati njegov najveći i najozbiljniji konkurent - Novak Đoković.
Takva je bila volja žreba u petak u Melburnu, u kojem se našlo čak petoro srpskih tenisera, sa tendencijom da im se priključi i Viktor Troicki, ukoliko prođe poslednji krug kvalifikacija.
Prva runda turnira Đokoviću za suparnika donosi Nemca Bendžamina Bekera, Tipsarević igra protiv Australijanca Džozefa Sirijanija, dok je rival Pašanskom Amerikanac Mardi Fiš. U Novakovom delu žreba, kao potencijalni rivali figuriraju Tursunov, Hjuit, Bagdatis, Safin, a kasnije i Ferer, Nalbandijan i Štepanek. Tipsarević će već u drugoj rundi imati iskušenje u liku Verdaska, a ukoliko prođe čeka ga Federer. U ovom delu "kostura" su još i Berdih, Blejk, Ljubičić...Donju polovinu žreba predvodi Rafa Nadal, a u njegovom društvu našao se naš Boris Pašanski. Srpski teniser bi na Španca mogao da se nameri eventualno u četvrtfinalu, ali prethodno treba da savlada Fiša, Robreda, Rodika, Nieminena...
Srpske teniserke su kao treća i četvrta na svetu dobile nešto lakše rivalke, a pošto su na suprotnim stranama žreba ne bi mogle da se sastanu do finala. Jelena Janković igra sa Tamirom Pašek iz Austrije, a Ana Ivanović sa Rumunkom Soranom Kirsteom. Jelenu će žreb voditi na Razano, Šniderovu, zatim Vaidisovu, Serenu Vilijams, a tek u polufinalu bi je čekala Žastin Enan. Ana Ivanović se nalazi u delu gde bi od jačih protivnica mogla da dobije Safinu, Bartoli, Venus Vilijams, kao i Kuznjecovu u eventualnom polufinalu.
Australijen open počinje u noći između nedelje i ponedeljka, a raspored odigravanja mečeva biće poznat u subotu, po završetku treće runde kvalifikacija.

Fotografija copyright Goran Dojcinovic 2008

Fotografija copyright Goran Dojcinovic 2008

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