Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open. By winning three Majors in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the open era to win three Majors in a calendar year. He is the first player representing Serbia to win a Major singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively. Amongst other titles, he won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and was also on the team which won the 2010 Davis Cup. He is considered the best male tennis player to come out of the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. Djokovic is also a double winner of The Best Sportsperson of Serbia award and the award for The Best Sportsman by the Olympic Committee of Serbia. He has been awarded the Order of St. Sava, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Djokovic is a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia. He is the only player to defeat Nadal in two consecutive Grand Slam finals (2011 Wimbledon and 2011 US Open).

Biography

Novak was born 22 May 1987, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to father Srđan (Срђан) and mother Dijana (Дијана). His two younger brothers, Marko and Đorđe (Ђорђе), are also tennis players with professional aspirations. Since the end of 2005, Novak has dated Jelena Ristić.

He started playing tennis at the age of four. In the summer 1993, the six-year-old was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at Mount Kopaonik where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour. Upon seeing the dedicated and talented youngster in action, she stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." Genčić worked with young Djokovic over the following six years before realizing that, due to his rapid development, going abroad in search of increased level of competition was the best option for his future. To that end, she contacted Nikola Pilić, and in September 1999, the 12-year-old moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending four years there. At age 14, he began his international career, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.

He resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco and has been coached since 2006 by a former Slovak tennis player, Marián Vajda.

Djokovic is known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. He also did an impression of American tennis great John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker. Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.

Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking four himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.

From : www.wikipedia.org