Djokovic Wins The Battle of Belgrade

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY -  Searing sun has burned Novak Djokovic in the past. So when Djokovic found himself battling scalding temperatures that soared above 100 degrees on court against his childhood friend Viktor Troicki in the US Open first round, he welcomed the inviting cool shade as if it were a welcoming warm embrace of his girlfriend.

In a match of Serbian Davis Cup teammates, Djokovic did not exactly play with the conviction of a Grand Slam champion but showed some stubborn resilience to rally for a 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over the 47th-ranked Troicki.

Djokovic kept his competitive composure in the latter stages of the three hour, 40-minute win then broke up the crowd when he compared the feeling of the shelter of the shade to sharing a loving embrace with his girlfriend.

“The sun came down and I didn’t have any more heat, (I was asked) what kind of feeling was it,” Djokovic said. “It just came up to me.  It’s one of the best feelings, I guess, when you’re sleeping with your close one.  So I compare it to that.”

“It felt unbelievable. Let’s get back to tennis now,” Djokovic said with a sly smile in the post-match press conference.

Leave it to Djokovic to share the love after enduring an experience that has proved to be painful in the past. He has retired from matches in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in the past due to heat or breathing issues and anytime the heat and humidity collide on court Djokovic can begin to wear that haunted look of a man who just completed a marathon only to be informed there’s another 10 miles to run.

Today, Djokovic had a measured response to the heat: he waited it out.

“Look, you know, it was very hot.  It was just very hot,” Djokovic said. “It’s same for everybody. That’s all basically I can say. You know, heat issue is something that, you know, it’s just there.  You cannot affect it.  The weather is weather.  You just have to try to be patient and wait for the shadows, like I did.”

Contesting his 24th consecutive Grand slam event Djokovic stared down a familiar face in Troicki. This was their sixth professional meeting — Djokovic holds a 5-1 edge — but their first meeting came when Djokovic was 9-years-old and Troicki was 10 in Djokovic’s first tournament.

Needless to say, things did not go Djokovic’s way that day.

“My first tournament in my life that I’ve played, first match officially, it was under 10,” Djokovic said. “I won my first round and then I played him second round. He destroyed me. We keep on talking about that. But we are very good friends for a long time already.”

Since that match, the pair have joined forces on Serbian Davis Cup squad and have a shot to lead the nation to its first Davis Cup final when Serbia hosts the Czech Republic in the September 17-19th Davis Cup semifinals in Belgrade.

“We won many things together with Davis Cup, a lot of matches. We won European team championship under 18 together,” Djokovic said. “So we share a lot of nice moments.  It’s never easy to play a good friend on the court.  Just bad luck for him today because he’s been playing really well, you know, lately.  Today he was the better player on the court for a while.  Just too bad.”

Djokovic survived today, but the reality is, like compatriot and fellow former US Open finalist Jelena Jankovic, who also escaped with an opening-round match that went the distance, he must pick up his play if he is to go deep into the second week. Like Jankovic, Djokovic is an exceptional athlete who covers the court comprehensively, moves quickly and returns well, but is prone to periods of retrieving tennis.

The 2007 US Open runner-up is in the same quarter as Americans Andy Roddick, who beat Djokovic in Cincinnati, and Mardy Fish, the Cincinnati runner-up to Federer.

Djokovic didn’t need to watch replays of Roger Federer’s between-the-legs highlight reel winner that electrified the fans on Monday night — he experienced a similar shot in real life in the 2009 semifinals.

“No.  I’ve seen it live last year passing next to me,” Djokovic said with a smile. “That’s enough traumatic experiences for me. Today when Viktor tried to do the same thing, I said, No, no, please.  He was running for the ball between the legs.  Please miss it.  Please don’t embarrass me again.”

The master mimic who entertained the crowd with his impressions of Nadal, Roddick and Maria Sharapova during his run to the ’07 final was asked if he would consider trying to emulate Federer’s tweener himself.

“No, definitely not.  I am not as good as he is in that.  I’d like to be very careful with my racquet,” Djokovic said glancing down below his waist. “You know what I mean.”

Rich Pagliaro is the editor of TennisNow.com.