Novak Djokovic - Australian Open Men's Tennis Players
The winner of the Australian Open 2008 men's tennis player's
crown, Novak Djokovic - or Nole to his fans - defeated World Number 1 Roger Federer in the semi-finals, and then went on to become the first player representing Serbia to win the tournament.
In 2007 Novak surpassed all expectations by rocketing up the ATP rankings at the age of 20. He is currently ranked no.3 in the world, after starting 2006 with a lowly ranking of 78.
He has proved to be one of those breeds of tennis player who are comfortable and competitive on all court surfaces, unlike his contemporary, Rafael Nadal, who is best suited to clay.
On current form, the charismatic Djokovic is sure to give the big guns of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and other Australian Open 2009 men's tennis players a run for their money – in this case, total prize money of AU$20 000 000! For more information on the latest tennis betting odds we recommend William Hill.
In 2007 Novak Djokovic proved to be a giant killer. He beat champions Nadal at the Miami Masters and world no.1, Roger Federer, at the Canadian Masters 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2). Following his Masters Series successes, Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg is quoted to have said that Novak Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam".
At the US Open 2007, Djokovic proved his mettle by reaching the final. He was ousted by archrival, Roger Federer 6-7(4), 6-7(2), 4-6. He also reached the 2007 semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
To date the rising tennis star has pocketed prize money in excess of US$3.5 million.
Novak Djokovic data:
- He defeated world numbers 1, 2 and 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick) on three consecutive days en route to his Canada Masters title in 2007. Only German tennis legend, Boris Becker, has accomplished this amazing feat.
- He is only the second player, after Thomas Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top 2 ranked players in the world.
- His quarterfinal win against Marcos Baghdatis at Wimbledon 2007 lasted 5 hours and became the second longest singles match in a single day in Wimbledon history.
- In August 2007 he was the highest ranked tennis player to agree that there was a problem with betting in men's tennis. It was alleged that top tennis players were throwing matches for material gain.
