As Novak Djokovic stepped up to serve for the match in the second-set tie-breaker against his compatriot, Janko Tipsarevic, the Tennis Channel announcer intoned in a hallowed voice, "The aura continues around Djokovic." The world No. 1 proceeded to kick in a high-bouncing second delivery to Tipsarevic and then pounced on the short reply, pounding a cross-court forehand winner for the match, 6-1, 7-6 (6). It's Djokovic's 10th win on the season, and he's still without a loss.
If Daniel Craig, the current actor portraying James Bond, decides to drop the role soon, Djokovic would be a good choice to replace him. The 24-year-old Serb dispatches his opponents in brutal fashion without appearing shaken or stirred. Wearing his trademark black Sergio Tacchini outfit, barely sweating or drawing a deep breath, even enjoying a turn tonight with the crowd at a group wave (he did toss his racquet at one point in the second set), Djokovic is definite leading-man material.
Playing on perhaps the dirtiest hard court in the world in Dubai (look closely next time), Djokovic faced his closest friend on the tour in Tipsarevic, who like Nole had a breakout season last year—though in much-less gaudy fashion—winning the first two tournaments of his career in Moscow and Kuala Lumpur. Both those events were held on fast indoor courts, and one can see quite clearly why Tipsarevic, who at 27 and currently enjoying a career-high No. 9-ranking, excels at the indoor game. He even beat Djokovic at the ATP World Finals in London in November. His game is quick-strike tennis, and he's an exciting shot-maker, but against Djokovic, one of the greatest defensive players the game has ever witnessed, winning points quickly is often not an option. Midway through the second set, in rallies more than 10 shots long, Djokovic had won 89 percent of such points.
The bearded and spectacled Serb was also using his challenges poorly in the first set. He challenged on shots that seemed clearly in, but declined to challenge on a deuce-point serve of his that struck the sideline inside the service box. On many close calls, Tipsarevic looked across at his friend and waited for Djokovic to either shake his head to indicate that the ball was out, or give a quizzical look like he didn't know whether the ball was in or not. Djokovic quickly capitalized on Tipsarevic's challenge-and-rally mistakes and captured the first set in 27 minutes.
The second set was a different tale altogether. Tipsarevic came out firing aces (he hit nine of his ten in the second set; he also hit all five of his double-faults then as well) and drilling winners, mostly off his dynamic down-the-line backhand. But Djokovic, serving brilliantly (he won 75 percent of points on both his first and second serves), didn't even face a break point. Tipsarevic broke out quickly in the tiebreaker, going up 3-0 and 4-1, but then the errors started flooding into his game. Without Djokovic doing much of anything, Tipsarevic squandered his lead. But at 5-all, he drilled a beautiful inside-out forehand winner off a deep return of serve, and Tipsarevic had a set point to even the match.
Unfortunately for Tipsaervic, he doesn't respond well to prosperity when facing his bud. He promptly double-faulted and then hit an unforced error, leading to Djokovic's final decisive point. The going gets decidedly tougher for Djokovic in the semifinals, where he faces Andy Murray, who vanquished Tomas Berdych in an earlier match. The last time they played, Djokovic prevailed, 7-5 in the fifth set, of a nearly-five hour semifinal match at the Australian Open.
—Dan Markowitz