Novak Djokovic – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis Player

Serb Novak Djokovic is currently showing the best form of his short professional career. Having won the 2008 Australian Open,  he is ranked number three in the world behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and has claimed two Masters Series wins.

Djokovic turned pro in 2003 and has already proven that he is an all-court player with a huge amount of talent. In 2006 he was ranked a lowly 78^th but his quarterfinal berth at the French Open, and his impressive fourth round finish at the All England Club saw his rankings rocket up into the top 20 for the first time.

He manage to clinch the 2008 Australian Open title and defeated Federer in the semi-finals. He also became the first player representing Serbia to win at a grand slam tennis tournament. 

In 2007 he proved to all his detractors that he was worthy of a top ten ranking when he overpowered Guillermo Canas, 6-3 6-2 6-4, to win the illustrious Miami Masters.

He then caused a major upset at the Montreal Masters when he defeated Roger Federer in three sets, 7-6(2) 2-6 7-6(2), in the final. En route to his Canadian victory he achieved a remarkable feat by defeating the world’s numbers one, two and three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick – on three consecutive days!

In his third attempt at the Masters Series, he again showed his class by defeating Scot, Andy Murray in the semi-finals, but fell to the might of Rafael Nadal in the final, 6-2 7-5. He has now won two Masters Series titles in just three starts.

2007 also saw him compete in a closely contested final at the US Open, again with Federer as his opponent. On this occasion the world number one held his nerve and claimed his 12^th Grand Slam, 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-4.

Djokovic also got as far as the semi-finals at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, only to be defeated by Rafael Nadal on both occasions. He will, however, be remembered for an epic display against Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis, in the quarterfinals. The match ended 7-6(4) 7-6(9) 6-7(3) 4-6 7-5 and lasted an incredible five hours, just five minutes shy of the longest singles match in a single day in Wimbledon history.

The 20-year-old Serb is definitely one of the up and coming young players to keep an eye on. He has shown tremendous maturity and finesse on court, and with his current displays, it will surely only be a matter of time before he knocks one of the top two out of the rankings.

Another statistic which indicates the all-round ability of the young man is his win/loss record by court surface:

• Hard-court – 62/21
• Grass – 12/5
• Carpet – 10/5
• Clay – 37/17

Could 2008 be the year Novak Djokovic claims his first Grand Slam?