The no. 2 player in the world, Novak Djokovic, has defeated Bernard Tomic of Australia in the second round of the Rogers Cup. The Serbian tennis star has been given the top seed in the competition in the absence of the world no. 1 Roger Federer. Djokovic didn’t have any difficulty in winning the match. He was in a destructive mood and he won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-3. He took just 71 minutes to thrash his opponent.
Both the players held their service in the first four games of the first set and the scores were leveled at 2-2. But, thereafter, Djokovic broke Tomic’s service twice and won the next four games consecutively to win the first set by 6-2. In the second set, the Australian player showed a bit of resistance and didn’t let Djokovic get a breakthrough till the end of the seventh game. Read more »
2011 saw an unbelievably successful year for Djokovic. With the U.S. Open, Montreal, Wimbledon, Rome, Madrid, Belgrade, Miami, Indian Wells, Dubai and the Australian Open under his belt, he looked unstoppable and he soared to number one status. This year, however has not seen the Serb dominate in the same way, and although he has already secured Miami and the Australian Open, these do not compare to the 10 title triumphs from the previous year. He met Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semi-finals, which saw him knocked out of the tournament, and knocked off the number one spot, handing it back to the Swiss.
On the previous occasions when the pair have met, it has been Djokovic who has come out on top; breaking Federer in the 2011 US Open and then again this year in the French Open. Many have doubted Federer’s excellence, believing him to be past his best, and unable to compete with the strength of Djokovic. The Serb could then go into the Wimbledon semi-final confident to ease through to the final. How wrong he was. Federer, with an faultless serve, took the first set, much to the dismay of Djokovic. The Serb fought back, levelling the game but it was in vain, as the Swiss sensation who’s abilities had been questioned went on to win the third and fourth set and subsequently the match.
Djokovic who might have enjoyed basking in his glory, should have known not to get too comfortable at the top. The tennis season has withnessd some surprising results, including Nadal’s defeat at the hands of 100th seed Rosol as well as Federer’s unbelievable comeback to the top. With the tennis greats all in impeccable form, the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games should make for an extremely enjoyable and exciting contest.
Former Wimbledon Gentlemen’s champion Novak Djokovic admitted that Swiss Master Roger Federer would be the deserving winner if he manages to beat British tennis star Andy Murray on Sunday, the 8th of July to claim what would be his 7th Wimbledon crown, equaling the record set by Pete Sampras, the American tennis legend.
Moreover, the 16 time Grand Slam winner will also reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings with a win at the All England Club, a position that he held for record time but was last number one in May 2010.
And Djokovic, who lost to the Swiss Maestro in the semi final of Wimbledon, has stated that there is only one man who deserves to be at the top of the rankings based on current form and that man is Federer. Read more »
The world number one Novak Djokovic began his defence of the Wimbledon title with an easy victory over the Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero on the first day of the tournament. The Serb won in straight sets 6-3 6-3 6-1, and seemed to be enjoying his return to SW19 after such a thrilling win over Nadal in last year’s final. Djokovic was also given the honour of being the first to appear on centre court in 2012 gaining preference over the match of 6-time former champion Federer.
“It was a very unique feeling,” Novak said. “I think it’s the first time I have experienced that in my career. The grass was so soft, so smooth. It was great to play on. The grass is not like it used to be when it was more suited to serve-and-volley players. Now it’s more about baseline players, which made him [Ferrero] more dangerous for me.” This was just a courtesy though, as Djokovic looked comfortable throughout the match, and will be already looking forward to his next encounter. “The first two sets were exciting and close. I was very satisfied with my performance,” he said later.
The Serb’s next opponent will be the unseeded and big serving Ryan Harrison of the USA – you would think this match may also not be too taxing for the defending champion, and none of the next few potential match-ups will worry Novak too much. The next few possible opponents could be Stepanek, Monaco and Almagro, before things get interesting in the semifinals. At that point Federer may be able to cause some problems for him and of course if this test is passed then there will always be the probability of meeting his arch-enemy Nadal in the final – if this were to happen they would have met in each of the previous 5 Grand Slam finals.
Novak Djokovic has been confirmed as the top seed for Wimbledon, while Bernard Tomic and Feliciano Lopez are the big movers in the seedings list.
As expected, the top four in the world – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray – are seeded as the top four in order for the third Grand Slam of the year.
Three of the big four reached the semis, last year, with six-time champion, Federer, crashing out in the quarters to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who will be seeded fifth in 2012. Read more »