Djokovic working for a Paris surprise
Source: Agencies |
June 2, 2010, Wednesday
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TENNIS fans hoping for another French Open final between defending champion Roger Federer and his nemesis Rafael Nadal are going to be disappointed if Novak Djokovic has his way.
Djokovic beat American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals and next faces Jurgen Melzer of Austria. With Federer and Nadal as the favorites, the third-seeded Serbian believes he can cause a major upset this year.
"I'm in this small group of players behind them who are trying to get to that final and do something surprising, something that people don't expect," Djokovic said.
Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half of the draw and would square off if they win their quarterfinals.
"I think it's normal to talk about a Federer vs Nadal final," Djokovic added. "People expect that. They have played so many grand slam finals in the last four, five years."
Djokovic has a 7-14 record against four-time French Open winner Nadal, but all his victories were on hard court. The closest he came to defeating Nadal on clay was in the Madrid Masters last year when he squandered three match points.
"It was obvious after that match we both kind of lost our rhythm on the court physically, emotionally, and mentally," Djokovic said. "But it was a match to remember."
Should Djokovic play Nadal in the semifinals, he will use the lessons he has learnt from that four-hour and three-minute thriller.
"In case I get to play him here in Paris, definitely I will try to play a similar game that I played in Madrid," he said. "Because you need to be aggressive against him. I mean, that's the only way you can win."
Djokovic beat American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals and next faces Jurgen Melzer of Austria. With Federer and Nadal as the favorites, the third-seeded Serbian believes he can cause a major upset this year.
"I'm in this small group of players behind them who are trying to get to that final and do something surprising, something that people don't expect," Djokovic said.
Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half of the draw and would square off if they win their quarterfinals.
"I think it's normal to talk about a Federer vs Nadal final," Djokovic added. "People expect that. They have played so many grand slam finals in the last four, five years."
Djokovic has a 7-14 record against four-time French Open winner Nadal, but all his victories were on hard court. The closest he came to defeating Nadal on clay was in the Madrid Masters last year when he squandered three match points.
"It was obvious after that match we both kind of lost our rhythm on the court physically, emotionally, and mentally," Djokovic said. "But it was a match to remember."
Should Djokovic play Nadal in the semifinals, he will use the lessons he has learnt from that four-hour and three-minute thriller.
"In case I get to play him here in Paris, definitely I will try to play a similar game that I played in Madrid," he said. "Because you need to be aggressive against him. I mean, that's the only way you can win."
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