NOVAK DJOKOVIC'S RISE TO THE SUMMIT OF MEN'S TENNIS-----the Journey*

Serbia has produced great sportsmen like Dejan Stankovic and Nemanja Vidic, but it is safe to say that none can compare to the new WORLD NUMBER ONE of Tennis, Novak Djokovic commonly known as the Djoker-joker or nole among friends, fellow professionals and fans alike.

Born, 22 May 1987, the 24 year is just a week younger than Andy Murray (15 May 1987)......but has won 3 grand slam titles and 9 ATP masters 1000 crowns in addition to a bronze medal at the 08 Olympic games in China, the 09 ATP season ending tour finals tournament (formerly known as the MASTERS CUP),etc.
The humorous sports man who turned pro in 2007, is also the youngest male player to reach the semi finals of all four grand slams.

The chap first caught my attention four years ago in Montreal when he defeated then World no 3, Andy Roddick, no 2 ranked Rafa Nadal, and no 1, Roger Federer in consecutive days to claim the Masters 1000 title in the Canadian town. Although he immediately lost early in the next tournament (Cincinnati) to former World no 1, Carlos Moya, the tennis world had already began to witness the making of a great player.
The djoker went to the US open and true to it, finished runner-up to Roger Federer in three tight sets, while the then world number 2, nadal buckled in the fourth round against country man,david ferrer. The djoker finished the year ranked world number 3 for the first time.
At the 08 Australian Open, Novak djokovic was in inspired form, beating every player that came his way, including the undisputed World number one, Roger Federer in the semi-finals(thus claiming the Swiss' scalp for the first time in grand slam play), thus reaching his second consecutive slam final. He went on to defeat frenchman , Jo-Wilfred Tsonga(who dismissed nadal in straight sets in the semis)  in four sets in the title match, to win his maiden grand slam. He also made history, becoming the first Serbain player to win a slam. He started knocking on the door of Nadal's no 2 spot. H e went on to defeat american, mardy fish in the 08 indian wells final, hi second successive final appearance (after losing the 07 final to nadal). He avenged the defeat to Nadal in key Biscayne, sending the Spanish supremo packing in the q/finals(07). In Hamburg, he had the chance to become world number two, if he beat nadal, but he lost to his friend and rival, thus remaining world number 3. He reached his 5th straight grand slma semi finals at Roland Garros, but fell again to eventual champion, Rafa Nadal in straights. He lost before the semi-final for the first time since the 07 french open at the 08 Wimbledon v former world number one, Marat Safin in the early rounds (Safin went on to reach the semis losing to Federer). Novak reached another slam semis at the US Open, losing to Fed-xpress again. Djokovic went on to win the season ending masters tournament , defeating Nik Davydenko in the final. He also made huge strides in 09 and 10 reaching q/finals,semi-finals and finals of major tournaments. He reached his 3rd grand slam final at the '10 US open final, but was unlucky at that time, as he was up against Rafa Nadal, a man on a mission to complete a career grand slam/golden slam.He lost in 4 sets. He again lost to Nadal in the semi-finals of the season ending masters tournament in London. That represented his last loss in a long time. He went on to inspire Serbia to the 2010 Davis cup title and from then on, was UNSTOPPABLE.
2011 began with Djokovic in total dominance. He brushed past all who came his way in the 1st grand slam tournament of the year, including Roger Federer in the semi-finals. He lost only one set en route to his 2nd grand slam triumph, defeating Murray in the final in a straight sets. This was Murray's third straight grand slam final heart break (his 1st 2 was to King Roger). Nole went on defeat Federer again in Dubai in the final in straight sets and took his second title of the year. He was full of confidence going into the first two masters 1000 tournaments of the year and he again swept past everyone who came his way in lightening fashion, including Roger, who he defeated for the 3rd successive time in Indian Wells. In the final, he was up against a man who had a 16-7 match win-loss record against him and had beaten him the all the five finals they had met on the ATP tour. He didn't let that get into his head though, as he edged the great MATADOR in 3 sets,thus winning his 5tth masters 1000 title and preventing Nadal from lifting his 19th masters 1000 title. He was determined to win more and he had that air of invincibility in his play. He wasn't the Novak who would retire at the slightest opportunity anymore, nor was he one who couldn't grind out matches. Many believed it was his gruelling semi-final win v Federer at the 10' US open, that was responsible for this mental supremacy. In his cheerful and ebullient style, he was also extremely dominant even against people who had the edge over him in previous years. After taking out Roger in Miami, he took the number two spot from the Swiss Master. He was not only winning, but also winning convincingly and expertly. He carried his devastating form to Miami where he accounted for the dismissals of Mardy fish, kelvin anderson and co to set up another final v Nadal. He again came out on top in three sets to claim his second straight victory over Nadal and improve to 2-5 in finals and also his 26th consecutive win and 24th of the year. By winning the Aussie Open, Indian wells and Miami tournaments, he emulated the feat achieved by Roger Federer in 2006.
He withdrew from Monte Carlo to the relief of his fellow professionals. A tournament Nadal won for the 7th straight year. He however came back at his home tournament in Belgrade. The end result was a familiar sight as he flashed past Feliciano Lopez in the final to win his 5th straight tournament. Tennis Legends Matt Wilander, Bjorn Borg, and John McEnroe, whose record of 42 straight match wins was under serious threat, praised the 24 year old Tennis champion. He took them in his stride and all that motivated him to achieve even more. He went into the clay masters 1000 swing with a lot of belief and that paid off as he became the first man to defeat Nadal in consecutive clay court finals (Rome and Madrid) and four consecutive finals overall. Nadal was broken and his number one position was under serious threat. It was not long before Nole claimed it  as that was his ultimate goal. In fact , it would have been a disservice if he wasn't crowned the Undisputed numero uno of Tennis, sooner rather than later.

Despite Nole's heroics, Nadal was favourite to win his 6th french open title, but Tennis commentators and former players didn't disregard the huge challenge posed by the sparkling Serb. The Serb's 41 match winning streak finally came to an end against Tennis's Greatest player, Roger Federer, who defeated him in the semi finals, before going on to lose the final to Nadal for the 4th time in Paris, and 6th in Grand slam finals. By beating Djokovic, Federer delayed the inevitable situation of the Serb being Number one. Nadal still held his position at least for the time being.
The djoker pulled out of Queen's (the warm up tourney for Wimbledon which was won by Andy Murray),but was fit enough for the grass slam at the SW19. He had reached two semi-finals in this tournament already, including the previous year where he inexplicably lost to Thomas Berdych in straight sets. This was a different player now and he was determined to improve on last year's run. He did and even went on to displace Nadal as the champion of Wimbledon and World number one, beating him for the 5th time on the bounce to even their final match-ups 5-5. The Serbian genius was in bullish mood and there was no stopping him. It was official............JULY 4 2011, NOVAK DJOKOVIC WAS RANKED WORLD NUMBER ONE for the first time in his fantastic career. He achieved in two days, all what he has been dreaming of...triumphing at the All England Club and becoming Numero Uno of Tennis.

The Top tier of Tennis didn't feature in the small tournaments leading up to the US OPEN, but came out of their holes when the big one in Montreal went underway. Djokovic continued from where he left off a month ago, winning the tournament after just edging past Mardy Fish in three tight sets. This was his 9th title in 10 tournaments and his 12th consecutive win on the spin. Who can stop him?????????was the question on every one's lips.The other members of Tennis top echelon (nadal, federer, murray) couldn't even make the semis. Next stop was Cincinnati and Nole again, expectedly reached the final only to retire with a shoulder injury, after trailing Murray 4-6, 0-3.  This marked the end of his astonishing run post Roland Garros. He has compiled a remarkable 57-2 loss record this season and no one will bet against him lifting his 4th grand slam title and 3rd of 2011 at Flushing Meadows(US OPEN). Nadal will be wary of his friend and rival, considering what has transpired between them this year. Djokovic is the only man on the ATP tour to defeat Nadal in 10 or more matches

Ohireime Eboreime
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