Novak Djokovic has been making headlines all year long. He won his third career ATP title earlier in the season in Adelaide and after a successful campaign in the desert that saw him eclipse his young rivals, Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray, to reach the final of the Pacific Life Open and be the first of his counterparts to crack the Top 10 in the rankings this week.
Djokovic, who has already made his home in tax haven Monte Carlo and was rumored to be courting Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association for membership, was also becoming infamous for making bold statements and having physical problems that interrupt his matches. But last week, tennis fans were able to see – or rather read – a different side of the young Serb.
The 19-year-old joined the blogging revolution by writing an unexpected report of Fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic’s third-round match against Australian Alicia Molik.
“And here she is! The whole stadium is welcoming our beauty with a big standing ovation! Every time there is a new collection of Adidas clothes [his sponsor as well], we are all curious to see how Ana will look in it…of course beautiful!” he wrote, in an entry posted on Ivanovic’s website.
Djokovic and Ivanovic have long been acquaintances, training and competing since they were children at Belgrade’s Partizan Tennis Club, now famous for being the name of a soccer team. Djokovic remembers it well.
“I remember a long time ago when we played against each other, at the Partizan tennis club, where we have been members for a long time. She was really tall for her age, which helped her serve then, and it helps now too! Her forehand was always her big weapon…”
He was also more than willing to give his analysis of the match.
“We all know that Ana’s game is really aggressive (and it should stay that way) but today she has to be a little bit more calm and consistent with Alicia Molik, who is a very powerful player with a big serve!
But Ana has better strokes, especially the return.”
Ivanovic has already secured more titles than her male counterpart, but unlike Djokovic has yet to make the leap into the top 10. But Djokovic predicts a continuing rise for his compatriot, who now trains in Switzerland.
“She improved since I watched her last match, especially her movement. She has big potential. With a little bit more consistency and experience she is going to be on top! Everything comes with time, and I know that she believes in herself,” he writes on a wide-ruled notebook in all capital letters, leaving only the letter “I’s” in lower case.
The two are friends off the court and have already teamed up at the Hopman Cup.
“I wish her all the best, and I hope she is going to have a big smile on her face when she sees this blog,” finished Djokovic.
Ivanovic thanked Djokovic almost immediately in a message to fans, returning his compliments with one of her own. “It’s very impressive to see that Novak can write so well in English, because it’s not even his first language,” she wrote.
“I would just like to write a note to say a big ‘thank you’ to Novak for what he wrote on my site yesterday. I had no idea he was going to write this report! When I saw him at the club he was all the time joking with me, saying he had a surprise, but Novak is always making jokes, so I had no clue what it would be, or even if he was serious!
I definitely had a big smile on my face while I was reading this report – it was fun to read.”
Both young stars are currently in Miami to compete at the Sony Ericsson Open.