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Novak News & Interviews Vol.2

221K views 2K replies 116 participants last post by  talicnitom 
#1 ·
Yeah, I thought of one last thread we needed... you know, for all the articles about him that are written, etc.

NOW we are set with the threads I believe.

But this will be the lovely place where our Serbian friends post the articles and we wait for translations :)
"Volume 1"
 
#164 ·
The MRi said he had intern hemorraging? :awww:
 
#165 ·


:awww:

I'm glad he's prioritizing his health, but I just get all :awww: trying to imagine how bummed out he must be for not being able to go!

 
#167 ·
Absolutely agree. I'm so glad Nole is putting his health first and foremost and is not daft enough to think he can play in the China Open when he's not 100% fit and healthy. Thats all us fans care about, his health is wayyyyyy more important.

But i also get all :awww: about how sad he must be not being able to play the game he loves.
 
#166 ·
Thanks Shuhrat for posting those two very insightful and wonderful articles. The first from Cetojevic, giving a little glimpse into the focus, drive and desire Nole had/has to become the best, even from when he was a little boy, lifting the Wimbledon trophy. I'm so happy he acheived his dream :)

And the other, i love how much respect Nole has from other legends of the game. Was never a big Samprass fan if i'm totally honest, but i appreciate his talent, his comments and those of Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier and Michael Chang are really great and i'm really glad that Nole's getting the plaudits he deserves :)
 
#168 ·
For all of those people who have doubts. Yes,I played football,and I had no problem with my injury there,but as soon as I started playing tennis and tried to serve,it just wasn't recovered enough for Beijing. I am working on my fitness,but i need more time and therapy's to feel 100% ready to compete!
I can't f***ing believe that he feels the need to justify his actions to haters out there. It seriously pisses me off. And he's absolutely incredible for doing that.
 
#169 ·
Yeah, it kind of bothers me. He should be above all that. He's the one doing it, not the others. Not his fans neither his haters. He doesn' need to explain himself to anybody. :(
 
#171 ·
To change my mood, a couple of articles that I found from the old news thread

From 2007: Ascent of Novak Djokovic has only just begun

[...]

"Let me tell you a story I haven't told anyone else," said Srdjan Djokovic, speaking in Serbian, as his wife translated.

As a youngster, Novak spent a lot of time with his paternal grandmother, who suffered from bone cancer. "One day he was sitting in the living room and he asked her, 'Grandma, where is your pain?'" Srjdan Djokovic said. "She showed him a point on her back, and he was making a massage for hours. He was maybe 6 years old.

"She lived for two more years because of him. She couldn't walk 20 meters, but with him, she was walking all over the place, picking flowers.

Djokovic has matured a great deal over the last year, and he just turned 20.

Srjdan added: "He cares for everybody. You have to know him to see some things."

Vajda said Djokovic makes a round of calls to relatives after every match. "If he wants to relax, he goes to his family," the coach said. When his mother tried to keep a recent health scare from Djokovic, he guessed something was amiss from thousands of miles away.

"Family, for him, is the most important part of his life," his mother said. "He gets energy from us when he's tired."

[...]


*****

From 2004: http://www.menstennisforums.com/showpost.php?p=5503048&postcount=404

I might be the only person that finds this 'old news' interesting, but here it is. Novak was steveg's Player Profile of the week in May 2004. Novak had just won his first challenger (the second one he ever entered) from the qualifying...a day after his 17th birthday.

Player Profile
Most young players make their way through the juniors while gaining experience and working their way up the rankings. Others try to go directly to the pros. That appears to be the case with a 17-year-old from Serbia&Montenegro, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is only ranked 122 in the world in juniors and has played in only 4 juniors events in the past year. But looking closer, he has lost to only players like: Josselyn Ouanna, Gael Monfils, Robert Smeets, and Daniel Gimeno and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open this year. Instead, Djokovic has quickly risen up the ATP rankings and has been playing particularly well as of late. He started 2004 ranked #679 on only 3 events. His first three professional experiences came last year in Germany F1a and Germany F1b in January. In June he played in his home nation in Serbia F2. All three were first round losses as an unranked wild card. Then he finally got a win in Serbia F3. He got it by defeating fellow Serbian, Darko Madjarovski, in a tough three-setter. But it seemed to get a bit easier from there as he went on to win the whole event! A futures title in just his 4th event where he had won his first pro match. He followed that up with a semifinals appearance the next week in Serbia F4. He also reached the semifinals two weeks later in Serbia F6 and that's how he got to #679 in just 3 events (where he earned points). In 2004 he qualified for and reached the semifinals in Croatia F1 and later reached the quarterfinals in Italy F4. He also got his first Davis Cup experience in April, winning a dead rubber and helping Serbia&Montenegro sweep Latvia 5-0. Then a few weeks ago in Hungary F1, he took his second futures title. That got him 57 spots last week to #515. So he decided to stay in Hungary and play in the Budapest challenger last week. There he qualified and went right through the draw, dropping only one set and taking out both the #1 and #2 seeds on the way to his first challenger title, which he won on his 17th birthday. That shoots Djokovic up 177 spots this week to #338. In a very short time, Djokovic has risen into the top 400 and has 2 futures titles in just 12 events and a challenger title in the first challenger where he played in a main draw. At 17, Novak Djokovic seems a shooting star and is definitely one to watch.
 
#176 ·
I tweeted Nole about it, he shouldn't feel the need to justify his actions. His first message was very clear and specific about his injuries and what he felt. That was for the fans and sponsors. The second one was for the haters. I hope he stops trying to please everybody. Haters gonna hate. These are my tweets:

Yolitatennis
@DjokerNole You don't have to justify yourself to the haters Novak. They're dying with envy! :) Take all the time you need. #NoleLove

Yolitatennis
@DjokerNole Stop trying to please the haters.Wear their hate as a badge of honour,a trophy to the best tennis season,2nd only to Laver's GS.

Yolitatennis
Many fans hope that @DjokerNole plays injured in Asia,his injury gets worse and the others have a chance in Basel and the WTF.Not happening
.

And then I stopped. :D

Best wishes for Nole. I'm glad he's taking care of his health. I'm sorry for all the disappointed fans in China, but with a season like this they'll understand. And I hope he's fit enough to go to Basel and the WTF and gets those titles. Who's the defending champion there? :rolls:
 
#178 ·
:worship: that's what he needs now, our support!! :yes:

I also tweeted him some messages, but something odd happened, one of my followers (who I don't follow, because, I just don't do follow x follow), AND apparently a Novak fan, just after I finished my posts, tweeted me: "tell me more" :confused: so, to me it sounded mean spirited (in the fashion of the "tell me more" meme), I just answered back: Ok: "more", and blocked him o_O I really was all :confused:

But more on the subject, I hate the fact that Nole feels the need to justify himself, but he must be pretty tired of all the shit people is talking, he's normally such a sweetie but I guess this time he just needed to "rant"

I just want him to get better, that's all I care now :sad: I hate it when he's all sad (he might not show it that often but I believe he is very sensitive with these type of comments)
 
#180 ·
Nole on Fiorello Show http://tennisblog.blogosfere.it/201...igliora-e-fiorello-lo-invita-al-suo-show.html

(via Google translate) [...] Meanwhile, soon, the Italian television audience will know the qualities of extratennistiche of Serbia. Fiorello fact invited him in his variety show, still untitled, which will begin on Monday November 14 of an RAI. Fiorello was able to appreciate the talent of comedian / impersonator Nole hosting it on two occasions in his theater show in Rome coincided with the International of Italy. Unforgettable then entered into the field on the Foro Italico in Central Djokovic complete with wig and leg lame mock the showman Sicilian back on TV after a long absence. Nole will be in good company. Together with him we will host Fiorello Jovanotti, Buble, Coldplay, Laura Pausini and Giorgia.
 
#183 ·
Is there really a better tennis blogger? if there is I don't know it. :worship:

Most Elevated
Steve Tignor


“Was this the greatest night in the history of baseball?”

That question was posed by an ESPN anchor to Tim Kurkjian, the network's MLB expert, on Thursday morning. A few hours earlier, two teams, the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox, had completed historic end-of-season collapses at virtually the same moment. Kurkjian's answer? Do I really need to tell you? Yes, of course it was the greatest single night in the century-and-a-half history of the national pastime. And I agree, it was exciting, even if I did manage to fall asleep somewhere along the way. But I wonder: Will anyone outside of those two collapsed cities, Boston and Atlanta, remember it in a year?

Hyperbole is what we do in sports—we're the greatest ever at declaring things the greatest ever. Write a post about Victoria Azarenka’s bad shoulder, and an hour later you’ll find 10 commenters screaming at each other about whether Laver or Federer is the One True Goat. I’m not totally against this kind of chatter. I’m not spoilsport enough to declare that “Goats don’t exist"; I really do think Roger Federer is the best ever, and that the 2008 Wimbledon men’s final was the “greatest match of all time.” But there must be moderation in all things. How about we have a Goat summit meeting once a year? We could schedule it over the Christmas holidays.

There hasn’t been much moderation surrounding tennis’s latest greatest achievement, Novak Djokovic’s 2011 season. It didn’t even take half the year before speculation began about whether it was the best in men’s tennis history (or, for those of us who wanted to inject some futile last-minute sanity into the discussion, Open era history). There was a reason, or reason enough, for all of this premature talk: Djokovic wasn’t losing, to anyone. But there was also a wish among fans and commentators and editors to believe that we really were witnessing something historic, despite the cold hard fact that after his loss at the French Open, Djokovic would never match Rod Laver’s gold-standard Grand Slam of 1969. The desire to see history, and believe that you’re part of it, is strong.

Now that the biggest moments of Djokovic’s 2011 are over, and injury has slowed him, we can make a better assessment of his accomplishments. If his season isn’t the Greatest, what is it? First of all, it’s obviously not over yet. If he skips the Shanghai Masters, he will likely play three more events, in Basel, Paris, and London. If he wins all of them he could improve his record from its current 64-3 to something along the lines of 78-3. I would guess that this isn’t going to happen, except that I've already guessed that a lot of things wouldn’t happen for Djokovic this year that did. However he wraps it up, though, this has been one of the best seasons we’ve seen. Only five other men in the Open era (Laver, Connors, Wilander, Federer, and Nadal) have won at least three majors in a year, and no one has won five Masters events to go along with them. Yes, the Masters Series is a fairly new invention, but it’s still a testament to Djokovic’s consistency and surface versatility. Only McEnroe’s 82-3 in 1984 and Federer’s 92-5 in 2006 are in the same winning percentage stratosphere.

To me, though, another stat should, in the future, give people a true idea of Djokovic’s excellence this year: His 10-1 record against Federer and Nadal. That’s like killing two Goats at once; or like someone coming along in 1981 and dominating both Borg and McEnroe—you can’t say Djokovic had it easy. In fact, the only reason that his season isn’t vying with Laver's is that the Greatest of All Time, Federer, played some of his greatest tennis, in the year’s greatest match, in the semis of the French Open. And Djokovic was still a couple of points from sending it to a fifth set and most likely winning it. But while Federer came out on top, it was Djokovic’s streak, and the surreal quality of his season, that made that afternoon in Paris the most dramatic of the year.

Whether Djokovic’s 2011 is “better” than Federer’s '06 or Mac’s '84 or Rafa’s '10 or Connors’ '74 can be hashed out when it’s finally over and the numbers are all in. But I will say that the experience of watching him through this year has been unique. Djokovic started on top of the mountain in Melbourne and only got better from there. He won when we didn’t expect him to—against Nadal on clay—and he won when the expectations were immense, at the U.S. Open. He bounced back from the crushing disappointment of Paris to win Wimbledon, and came back to win when he really didn’t need to, against Andy Murray in the semis in Rome. What makes Djokovic’s season special to me was that it seemed like one long sustained performance—while he triumphed in a dozen different ways, it felt like one big, brilliant winning match, played on every surface, all over the world. I don’t think his season will end up being called the Greatest, but it may be the Most Elevated: Nobody has gotten closer to levitating on a tennis court than Djokovic did in 2011. May he rise again soon.

*****

Have a good weekend
 
#184 ·
Tignor, you need to hide from the Fedtards :lol:

And for Nole trying to explain himself: I have similar urge to do the same :lol: I was answering some standard multiple choice questionaires from my therapist concerning my bummed left shoulder. One is how it affects my writing. I answered not at all but I could not stop there so I wrote "I am right handed and it is my left shoulder that's hurting" :p
 
#188 ·
I don't know how to say this... but Nole has an official Tumblr account! XD it's pretty much like his WhoSay profile but... it's a Tumblr account... e.e so... he's officially addicted to social networking xD and... Tumblr... OMG



http://official-novakdjokovic.tumblr.com/
 
#192 ·
THE TUMBLR ACCOUNT IS OFFICIAL...



It is linked to the WhoSay Profile and back... OMG



I'm going to die the day he starts using emotion gifs!! xD
 
#190 ·
I just want to inform you all that Novak is looking gooood!

I saw him today, an unexpected pleasure. :)

I turned my TV on to watch the semifinals of the European Volleyball Championships for women. The semis were: Germany vs Italy and Serbia vs Turkey.

I was very nervous because Turkey had defeated the 2-times world champions: Russia, and were playing fabulous volleyball, helped by their very intelligent Brazilian coach.

Guess who showed up to the match to support the Serbian girls? Yes! NOVAK! :eek::worship:

He got a fabulous ovation and he remained there for the entire match. A very exciting match. It went the distance, the Turks came back from 2 sets to 0 down to force a fifth set. It was as exciting as the US Open semifinal! And the Serbians won just like Novak: with a mixture of heart, great shots, luck and guts!

Novak is looking relaxed and happy. So don't you girls worry about how he's feeling about the media comments. I'm sure he realises that his success is bound to cause envy. He's learning to ignore the bad vibes.

I'm sure this rest will be very good for his game. I can't wait to see him on court. :D
 
#193 ·
Well, it seems like C-Note is back. :)

The five most exciting players to watch
Sports Illustrated

5. Novak Djokovic

It feels like a cop-out to put the best player in the world on this list, but the fact is that Djokovic is not only a tremendous player but he’s also an entertainer. That’s what got him into trouble earlier in his career but now it’s the thing that sets him apart. While the other top players on both Tours seem to close down during matches and block out the crowd, Djokovic invites you in. As a fan, rooting for a player is great, but when you feel like your energy and your cheers are being heard and are even, dare we say, needed, it takes the viewing experience to an entirely different level.

Djokovic doesn’t shut out fans and pretend that he’s simply there for their viewing pleasure. He gets pumped up and screams and waves his arms to get the crowd into it. And in doing so, he elevates the act of watching tennis from one of passivity to one of interactivity.

When you combine that level of awareness and showmanship with the athletic ability to pull off some of the most technically ridiculous shots, Djokovic matches become events that are simply fun. Isn’t that all we’re asking for?
 
#197 · (Edited)
Since it's a slow news day, here's an article from 2007 Estoril Open.


Have a Nice Day, Nole! by Miguel Seabra, 05/09/2007

[Once again, our main man in Europe, Miguel Seabra, has stepped up to bring you this update on Novak Djokovic's present, torrid run. Miguel is a very busy guy during Estoril; he's the Portuguese Bud Collins, but he found time to file this terrific firsthand report for us. I'm always touched by Mikey's obvious esteem for the Tribe, we're lucky, folks! And special thanks to photographer Jose Luis Fernandes (portrait) Mario Gouveia (action) for these images - Peter Bodo]

I was nurturing high expectations for this year’s edition of the Estoril Open, because the entry lists of the Portuguese combined event came out with 16 players age 20 and below. As a reporter, I always felt compelled to catch a young prospect early. I like to see his or her essence as a developing player and character, and it's interesting to see the degree of rapport a player has with the press and tennis officials before the perils of fame and fortune kick in.

That’s why I’ve always enjoyed covering the various satellite and Challenger-type events. I got to know Grand Slam winners - including Richard Krajicek, Gustavo Kuerten and Juan Carlos Ferrero - while they were still "raw," and playing sub-main tour events here in Portugal.

Of course, the Estoril Open is at a higher level, and it has all the ATP and WTA Tour idiosyncrasies. But it's still a much cozier and more intimate tournament than bigger combined events like Miami or the Slams. Anyway, I was (almost) spoiled this year by the number of youngsters in Estoril: Novak "Nole" Djokovic beat Richard Gasquet in an Estoril final featuring the youngest pair of men, ever, and 17 year-old Victoria Azarenka had two match-points before going down to wily German veteran Greta Arn in a third set tiebreaker.

I knew already young ‘Vika’ from Belarus through her Portuguese coach, Antonio Van Grichen, and Gasquet had been here in 2004, when he lost to Rafael Nadal in a second round match that was, perhaps presciently, labeled "a glimpse of the future". Of course, I was curious about young guns like Sam Querrey and the celebrated ‘round-robin killer’ Evgeny Korolev, but I was mostly interested in Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s performances - on and off the court.

I had previously talked with both Novak and Andy – but in very different environments at Masters and Grand Slam events. In Estoril, on my turf, I might be able to catch those little peculiarities that would help me better figure out their personalities for a feature I would be writing for my magazine, ProTENIS.

Unfortunately, Murray's back wasn't fully healed, and the withdrawal by Murray prevented the tournament from having five Top 10 players for the first time in it's history. It also prevented me from writing that Young Blood piece I was planning, but in the end I was happy: I got to know Djokovic pretty well and the tournament had a great addition to a pretty distinguished gallery of champions.

I must confess that, until the Australian Open this year, I didn’t think the world of Djokovic. I viewed him as an inconsiderate iconoclast: too much talking, not enough results against top players. I was completely wrong. The kid has been dealing darn well with the spotlight and he was simply the star of the Estoril Open from Day One, showing great respect and manners.

Novak arrived in Portugal the Saturday before the main draw. And the first thing he asked me for was tickets to the big game the following day between Lisbon soccer giants Benfica and Sporting – a crucial match that could decide which team would follow runaway leader FC Porto into the Champions League next season. I told him that, at the time of the match the next day, he was supposed to attend the official players' dinner and party – and I was surprised by his reaction: “Well, if it’s mandatory I should go to the dinner then.”

Being Number 5 in the world and a rising star crazy about soccer, Djokovic could do pretty much whatever he wanted, so his responsible reaction was surprising. Anyway, I still called João Lagos (the tournament director, a long-time Djokovic fan who shares your own Peter Bodo's enthusiasm for Djokovic's game). I told him about my conversation with Novak. Lagos got right on the phone with Benfica's president and a little while later one of the club's directors called me, with some exciting news.

I went out to find Novak, who was practicing with his coach Marian Vajda, a stocky but smooth Slovak who got to the Estoril semifinals back in 1991. I was struck by how happy Djokovic appeared during his practice session; in fact, it was probably the most joyful practice session I can remember ever watching. The workout finished in gales of laughter when, in the last point of a mini-tennis match, Novak deftly faked out Vajda so badly that the coach fell on his back and ended up caked in red clay.

When they were done, I told Novak the good news: “Novak, the stadium is sold out, tomorrow night. Sorry. But . . .we’ve got four invitations to the presidential box.”

The guy was ecstatic. The following day, we sat together in the first row of the exclusive box, alongside the usual assortment of ministers and diplomats and other VIPs. The match ended up a 1-1 tie, much to the dismay of Benfica supporters. The next morning, Benfica sent a present for Novak: an official team shirt with his name and favorite number (4) on the back. I went over to the players lounge and, with Marian Vajda and Novak's trainer, Ronen Bega, hung the red shirt on a nearby coat hook. When Novak joined us, he glanced it. A few moments later, he realized what it was, and that it was for him. He reacted like a kid on Christmas day.

I told Novak he could wear the shirt on court, before or after the match – since it was from his own sponsor, Adidas, it wouldn’t be a problem for him, and his picture would be everywhere. A couple of hours later, I saw him heading to the stadium with Igor Andreev. The red Benfica jersey was nowhere to be seen. But right before walking on court, he stopped, took the shirt out of his bag, and put it on. The crowd in the stadium was sparse (he was first on, and it was lunch time) and they greeted him with a chorus of boos! I felt terrible, I should have realized the sociological realities at play: Benfica is the popular club, but tennis attracts a posh crowd, and they're largely Sporting supporters.

Novak took it in stride, though, and he broke Igor Andreev right at the beginning of the match. We couldn't forsee it, but from that break on until he clinched championship point, Novak performed like a veteran warrior. The conditions became - and stayed - extremely difficult. The wind was terrible, and it kept changing and swirling in different, unpredictable directions.

Igor Andreev, the last man on the planet to beat Rafa Nadal on clay, is getting back to form after a lengthy injury and, with his big, high-bouncing, "Made in Spain" topspin forehand (Andreev left Moscow while in his teens), he soon started dictating play; Nole hung tough, but expressed frustration over not being able to play more aggressively. He was a break down in the third and the match was decided by a couple of points in the tiebreak: leading 3-2, Andreev double-faulted and then Novak finished off a long, intense exchange with a drop volley. He grabbed the momentum right there and went on to win the match and celebrated as if he'd won the whole tournament.

And then… he put on the Benfica jersey again and waved. and waved. He was booed a bit more than cheered, and on his way out he gestured to his ear and looked at me, a bit puzzled – but Vajda told him not to worry, that he did OK -it's just that it was a Sporting crowd. One person who did appreciate Novak's support was the Benfica striker, Italy's Fabrizio Miccoli. He was there, and he signed the shirt in a photo-op that was all over the papers the following day. (http://www.menstennisforums.com/showpost.php?p=5276012&postcount=1313)

Novak addressed the shirt incident at the press conference with a lot of maturity and diplomacy. He is great in pressers; he talks clearly and frankly and interacts with the reporters as well as he does with the public. The kid’s got charisma, no doubt about that. And a lot of people were happy to see him survive the stern test.

Novak's second rounder against Spain’s Santiago Ventura was a mere formality and then things got complicated again in the quarters against Spanish shotmaker Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The Djoker won the first set, then took a mental break in the second; he tried to regroup in the beginning of the third, but it wasn’t easy with the wind blowing again – after a couple of demanding points, the combination of anxiety and eagerness got the best of him. Novak started having problems breathing.

With Gracia-Lopez leading, 2-1, Novak called for the trainer, who subsequently worked a little on Novak's back, too. The timing of that interruption was such that Garcia-Lopez later said, rather cryptically, that “Novak is a very intelligent player.” But the real difference is that, from 5-all onward, Novak simply was the tougher, more determined player.

In the semifinals, Tommy Robredo was 5-3 ahead and ultimately served for the first set, but Djokovic battled his way out of trouble yet again; the wind got to Robredo, and Djokovic won the first and then ran away with the second set.

The final was a bit of a roller coaster ride in front of a sellout crowd, with the sun shining high. But the wind was a disruptive factor again. The first set was a tight affair, with two breaks each, and Novak called for the trainer twice - he even got some eye drops because of the clay dust. And right there, at crunch time, everybody could see why Gasquet is Number 15 and Djokovic is 5: the Frenchman has flair, but he blew six set-points from 5-4 on due to some poor decisions, while his Serbian opponent made the most of his first set point, closing it out, 9-7.

Novak got broken in the first game of the second, then threw the racquet so hard you could hear it crack. He didn’t get a warning, but from then, even the most diehard Djokovic fan had to admit that he appeared to tank. The way he let go that second set was dangerous, because he was clearly letting Richard back into the match, but he showed the confidence and Wilanders to get the momentum back exactly when he most needed it. Novak flicked the "on" switch again at the start of the third set, and raced to a 6-1 win.

Once again, I saw the good-humored, talkative kid whom I'd encountered at that first practice session of the tournament. Novak stripped and sent a racquet and his yellow shirt to the crowd. Then grabbed a red shirt from his bag – the crowd thought it was a Benfica jersey again, so a few started whistling. . .but Novak showed them it was Serbia’s national team soccer shirt, with the embroidery proclaiming ‘Made in Serbia’ and ‘Nole’. He got the trophy from Benfica legend Eusebio and then rushed like a kid to his bag to get the Benfica shirt. He asked Eusebio for an autograph in front of a packed stadium.

At the end of the trophy presentation I walked out to conduct the on-court interview. Novak acknowledged Eusebio and thanked everybody else, charming the crowd. My second question in the center court interview was: “None other than former great John McEnroe was quoted recently as saying that you are the best one of the new generation – that you are ‘da man’. What do you think about that? And are you really da man?”

He was quick on his feet: “Obviously, everybody can see that I’m not a woman!”

The stadium erupted in laughter. He went on to say he was honored to hear that, etc. etc. I had thought before the tournament that he lacked a proper respect toward the game and his peers, but he showed nothing but class throughout.

After his official ATP mass press conference we finally had time to sit quietly over lunch and discuss several issues. Here are some of the things Novak said:

On tanking the second set:
Under those conditions, I need to be so much more focused. The people that understand me the most are the players who play at this level; I was really frustrated because I’ve played all matches in this tournament under difficult windy conditions, I needed a kind of a mental break and it’s another lesson I need to learn – it shouldn’t happen in the future. It’s a professional sport, at this level you can’t just give the opportunity to players like Gasquet because they’re going to use it and then it’s tough to come back. I was lucky to play better in the first game of the third set. I was kind of saving energy; you have to variate and compromise with everything.​

On dominating’ Nadal at Roland Garros in 2006:
I say what I feel. I try to be as nice as possible, but I felt in that match against Nadal I was the one giving away the points and making the points. Of course he’s the best player in the surface, but what I was trying to explain the people is that I am an aggressive type of player and felt he wasn’t questioned in the match and I was giving him the points. People got me wrong.​

On the "He's going down!" comment Djokovic made before playing Federer in Australia 2007:
I didn’t say ‘He is going down’. What I said was that I’m going to try to win, I’m not going on court with a white flag. That’s what I said, and I say what I think. I said it in a good way, but they thought I was arrogant, cocky, blah blah blah... well, you have to accept it is a part of our professional life: the press is the one that can rise you to the stars and then kill you in the same moment.​

[Ed. note: I was there, and he said it. I kind of liked it, for the Wilanders it showed. I think The Mighty Fed can handle it. . . Peter Bodo]

About medical time-outs in matches:
Take the statistics: in five matches I retired, I was leading in four; the only one I was losing was that one against Nadal. Federer said everybody was pissed at me after that Davis Cup match last year in Geneva because I took a time out, but I was leading 2-0 in the fifth set. But they said whenever I’m losing I ask for a medical time-out. When I ask a medical time-out I’m not trying to confuse my opponent, I’m just trying to recover, to get ready. But people get me wrong.​

On the effort to recruit McEnroe to help him:
I try to improve my game, especially on the serve and the volley, getting more aggressive to use my opportunities and Mark Woodforde helped me out a lot at Indian Wells and Miami. Of course John McEnroe had great volleys, great feeling, good serve – he’s saying good things about me and it’s another positive thought and another step towards a future cooperation. I’m trying to get a big team so I can improve my game and get my game together in order to make it perfect. You have to invest in yourself: if you don’t take the risks you don’t get the rewards.​

On his favorite strategic move:
It’s a secret... but, as a young kid and throughout my career, I always liked the backhand down the line because it is a shot that changes something in the rally. I can do it, but I should do it more often.​

On what sets him apart from the others:
I’m different from other players because I’m always trying to learn something new and trying to improve. Most other players don’t do that, they stick to their games. Roger Federer is one that is trying to improve all the time. I’m always trying to get together those small things that I still miss.​

Of course, I also had a chat with Marian Vajda, who told me:
The Estoril Open was probably his most difficult title, considering the tough playing conditions. What I like the most about Novak is his winning attitude, he’s one of the best fighters on the tour and he likes to play matches, to compete. And he has very good skills. We’re working on the approach and the net game, and still working on the serve, but we try to improve on a daily basis, step by step. He has a very powerful game, he can increase the level of the speed of the ball and change the pace in a match and not a lot of players can do that. His movement was always very good, but now he is more powerful in his upper body. And he is intelligent, likes to work and learns fast.​

Then I asked about the rumors that McEnroe might join the Djokovic team. Vajda said, "Novak’s father would like John to help him with the net game, and I think it’s great. I’m OK with it”.

In my conversation with Nole, it really struck me when he said: “I try to do everything with a smile and positive energy."

I knew that Novak uses a yellow Smiley-face string dampener, so I pulled out a copy of my magazine, in which I used a Smiley-face icon as a substitute for the letter "O" in the headline, The Djoker. He loved it; I told him since he always has the Smiley on his strings he should make it his trademark logo and capitalize on it because strong icons make names stronger – Bjorn Borg had the Bj logo, Seve Ballesteros has the silhouette of him winning at St. Andrews as a logo, the Rolling Stones have that iconic tongue...

I bid my goodbyes to Novak and his team and headed back to the press office. My mental image of him was that of the Smiley-face icon. I realized I was smiling, too, and the only thing that made me stop was remembering that I had meant to ask him for an autographed shirt (one of his own Adidas tennis numbers) to donate to you all at TennisWorld, following a drawing or contest of some kind. Let me see if I can still make it happen!

--- Miguel Seabra**


[From the comment box]

# Miguel Seabra 05/09/2007 at 04:48 PM

Hi guys

So, what do you think -- can Nole go on to beat Baghdatis and then 'take Nadal down'?

He is an ultracompetitive kid; in the Players Lounge he was always playing PlayStation (soccer or tennis), pool or table soccer with the other players. Always djoking and in a good mood. But playing to win!

He has also a good sense of humour and laughs at himself (whe we went along a mirrored wall, he said «I look like Brad Pitt... after a car crash»).

I also advise you to take a look at the pictures and video footage from backstage action over at www.estorilopen.net.

Behind the scenes videos can be found here (http://www.estorilopen.net/2/en/players/video/default.asp) with footage from the players party, Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko sailing together (how romantic...), Fernando Gonzalez with a professional cycling team, Davydenko pretty relaxed at the Lisbon Oceanarium (he's really cool in that video) and also some other clips. (*Links don't work any more.)

Enjoy


# Miguel Seabra 05/09/2007 at 06:28 PM

Of course, all those boos and whistling to Novak's wearing the Benfica shirt were in a joking mode. Actually, Benfica is said to have more supporters in Portugal than FC Porto and Sporting together!

Actually, he asked me if there would be a problem with other club's supporters. I told him, some guys will whistle but it'll be in a joking way.

And I won't forget this scene. I was looking from afar when he was heading to the stadium for his first match with Igor Andreev; he was with two security guards and then stopped, forcing both security guards to stop as well; then he put his bag on the floor and took the shirt out; one of the guards, probably a fanatic supporter of some other team, put both hands on his heads and turned around in disbelief, probably thinking «I can't believe I'm protecting a Benfica supporter!». And I laughed at the scenario.

Actually, Novak already is a great Benfiquista: he celebrated Miccoli's goal at the stadium as if it were his club since when he was born! He jumped, screamed and even turned at me to celebrate...

At the time, Fernando Gonzalez was somewhere else in the stadium, invited by chilean Sporting player Rodrigo Tello.

Regarding Nole's time-outs: from where I sit, what I see is that he wants so much to win and becomes so anxious he really has trouble breathing.

About Nole vs Rafa: if he serves well, of course I think he has a chance. And he has a pretty good two-handed backhand (his left hand works a lot in that backhand!) to deal with high bouncing Rafa forehands to that side, besides having great touch for drop-shots (he should hit them to Rafa's forehand side, because Nadal is pretty good negotiating dropshots to his backhand) that can take the spaniard out of his comfort zone...


# Miguel Seabra 05/09/2007 at 07:59 PM

Thanks, guys. I'm still trying to sort out the shirt thing. Benito, if you're reading this in Rome get us that shirt and pass it on to Steve Tignor!

Ray, I'm 'only' 39. Why, do I look older?!

And Juan José, many many thanks for that link and you know you're welcome over here. It was really funny to see the trophy presentation from another perspective -- and that Eusebio autograph bit really is priceless!

Just look at the way Novak conducts himself, the things he says and how clearly he says it. The only other precocious communicator at his level in the Estoril Open winner's circle was Andrei Medvedev, who is still the youngest champion at 18.



** He's the journo who started a rumor that Nole seemed to have some sort of physical problem before the Madrid final, right? :p
 
#198 ·
FIRST-TIME WINNER SPOTLIGHT JANKO TIPSAREVIC

Q. Serbia currently has three players inside the Top 20 and the No. 3 ranked doubles player. How special is it to be part of this wave of great players from Serbia?

Janko : One of the things I really feel is pulling us to play better is that, there’s not so many, but a couple of guys from Serbia on tour who are producing great results. It’s an unbelievable privilege to watch the world’s No. 1 player from the front seat, what he’s doing. I’m one of the guys who is not ashamed; I’m asking him a lot of time at tournaments, what are you thinking when you’re returning, what do you think when it’s important, what do you focus on when you serve and you’re a break point down. All these tips it’s an extreme privilege to have. I feel that just talking between each other really helps us play at least 10 per cent better.
 
#201 ·
It just shows how great a person he is allowing himself to help his friends who are basically his rivals. :)
 
#202 ·
My favourite bit was:

Federer said everybody was pissed at me after that Davis Cup match last year in Geneva because I took a time out, but I was leading 2-0 in the fifth set
Ha, he didn't put a tooth in it :lol: Of course he wouldn't say it in such a way today, for PR reasons :p Federer went off on one long tirade about him after that match. " He's a joke", "Was happy to shake his hand, as the winner.." "poor prospect in comparison to Gasquet, Murray and Monfils" etc. etc. Of course no one ever mentions that ridiculous interview from Fed. All we hear over and over again is, Dijana's "King is dead" blah blah as if the Djokovics single handedly started the whole thing without any provocation, attacking, poor, mild-mannered Fed. You can hardly blame them for not being able to stand him after that DC fiasco. Besides, I read a very interesting report recently(from someone who was apparently there) on how that "King" comment actually came about. It said something like, she was giving an interview in Serbian and some Aussie journalists came over, wanting a big quote from her. She was saying she was happy, proud etc. and then one journo suggested "the king is dead". She didn't understand at first, what this was supposed to mean in English( confused because she was taking it literally) so it was then translated back into Serbian for her by one of the Serb journalists, to which she laughed and said "yeah yeah" or something like this. I found that interesting. It was a lot more tame than people made out, was said as a joke and wasn't even her original words. Also the "Novak, Novak, Novak" thing after Wimbledon was like this. Reporter: "For years it was Federer, Federer, Federer, Rafa, Rafa, Rafa, what do you think now? They said she laughed and went " now it's Novak, Novak, Novak"... But then of course, media presents them as these completely unprompted, statements. The last one is even kind of funny when you see the question :lol:
 
#204 ·
My favourite bit was:



Ha, he didn't put a tooth in it :lol: Of course he wouldn't say it in such a way today, for PR reasons :p Federer went off on one long tirade about him after that match. " He's a joke", "Was happy to shake his hand, as the winner.." "poor prospect in comparison to Gasquet, Murray and Monfils" etc. etc. Of course no one ever mentions that ridiculous interview from Fed. All we hear over and over again is, Dijana's "King is dead" blah blah as if the Djokovics single handedly started the whole thing without any provocation, attacking, poor, mild-mannered Fed. You can hardly blame them for not being able to stand him after that DC fiasco. Besides, I read a very interesting report recently(from someone who was apparently there) on how that "King" comment actually came about. It said something like, she was giving an interview in Serbian and some Aussie journalists came over, wanting a big quote from her. She was saying she was happy, proud etc. and then one journo suggested "the king is dead". She didn't understand at first, what this was supposed to mean in English( confused because she was taking it literally) so it was then translated back into Serbian for her by one of the Serb journalists, to which she laughed and said "yeah yeah" or something like this. I found that interesting. It was a lot more tame than people made out, was said as a joke and wasn't even her original words. Also the "Novak, Novak, Novak" thing after Wimbledon was like this. Reporter: "For years it was Federer, Federer, Federer, Rafa, Rafa, Rafa, what do you think now? They said she laughed and went " now it's Novak, Novak, Novak"... But then of course, media presents them as these completely unprompted, statements. The last one is even kind of funny when you see the question :lol:
What a douche this Fed. :(
 
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