U.S. Open - Confident Djokovic happy to be back

Eurosport - Sun, 24 Aug 14:33:00 2008

Twelve months ago at the US Open Novak Djokovic reached his first grand slam final but left disappointed after losing to Roger Federer in a tough four-setter.

TENNIS 2008 Beijing Olympics Novak Djokovic - 0

A year on the Serbian arrives in New York a changed man. His win at the Australian Open in January confirmed his promise and having established himself in the top three he is a real contender to upstage Swiss Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the new world number one, this year.

"It feels great to be back in the tournament where I did really well last year," Djokovic said.

"I was really close to the title and I had some exhausting matches but this is where I think I felt really confident after that. I started believing more that I can win a Grand Slam title, which I did this year."

Djokovic said becoming a Grand Slam champion had lifted his confidence to a new level.

"Now things are quite different," he noted. "As a Grand Slam winner, you get some kind of relief and you get motivation to claim even more titles.

"I think this surface and the balls and all the conditions here in New York are suitable to my style of the game and to my personality and everything.

"So if I feel well physically, I think, I hope, I can get far."

Djokovic reached the semi-finals at the Olympic Games, losing a tough three-set battle to Nadal, and said he was still coping with jet-lag.

"The last couple of weeks for me were really exhausting," he said.

"I had to travel all over the world, because I went from Cincinnati, I went back home and then went to Beijing and then came here. Everything in 10 days. You can imagine how I feel.

"I feel excited (about the tournament) but physically I still need to work on some things hopefully so that (by) Tuesday, Wednesday, I can be fit."

Djokovic, who is seeded third in New York, said Nadal and Federer were still the favourites to win the title.

"I don't think I'm a clear favourite when I'm playing next to these two guys," he said.

"I never have been because they're, of course, the first two players in the world. Next to me there are a lot of players, like Andy Murray, who is doing really well the last couple of months. We can expect him to play well in this tournament.

"But I just want to play the best tennis I can and results will show up."

Reuters

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  1. i really want to see ivanovic lifts us open trophy...

    From Mr invisible, on Mon 25 Aug 10:31PM

  2. And ppl call him arrogant - hahahahaha - did u read­ this article?!!! Hes far from that in my opinion. I­ think and really hope that he will do well again in the­ US open this year - I jus hope the Olympics hasnt tired­ him out !!! Good luck Nole - its time to go one step­ further and win it this time =D x x x

    From Clare, on Mon 25 Aug 8:40PM

  3. Keep it up Nadal!!! Win or lose you are still No 1!!!­ Vamos ahi arriba!!!

    From AndJustice4All, on Mon 25 Aug 7:37PM

  4. what a change a few months make, around springtime this­ year nobody thought nadal could win a hard court slam­ and was only considered a clay court specialist, now he­ is most peoples bet to win or reach the final. thats­ the beauty of the beast nobody can predict to far ahead­ who will dominate the game. vamos rafa

    From ralph, on Mon 25 Aug 7:09PM

  5. krv mi plavim venama tece
    meni je srpstvo od svega­ prece
    mene cuva bog imam svoj pravac
    ja sam srbin
    ja­ sam pravoslavac

    From aleksicn93, on Mon 25 Aug 3:17PM

  6. PUT YOUR LIFE SAVINGS 10.000EUROS ON A FIERY­ NADAL TO POCKET THE WINNERS CHECK

    From ekaterinabell, on Mon 25 Aug 2:36PM

  7. i think andy murray will prove most people wrong , i am­ not a fan of his but you cant hide the fact that he is­ playing realy well on the american hardcourts this­ season ,so i expect him to make the semis and mighty­ give rafa a few problems . my peak for the title is­ novak ,after he lost such a close match at the ­ olympics i expect him to do well onthis one though my­ heart wishes it was nadal holding the trophy come­ sunday two weeks .The women i peak Venus not because of­ ability but she is who i want to win !!!! ha ha

    From ejmakk, on Mon 25 Aug 1:45PM

  8. NOLE WINS! Watch out, Rafa, Fed and everybody else.­
    Ladies - I think it will be Serena. She knows how to­ play Grand Slamsa and she is always excellent on her­ home territory.

    From JJ, on Mon 25 Aug 1:35PM

  9. The way the swiss Express was dominating the tennnis­ game,the opposite,that is the diminition of of his game­ is happening to him now.l will be surprised if he won­ the US Open.Now,if Nadal,Djokovic and Murray are­ mentally and physically fit,it will be a very­ interesting US Open.My money goes to either Nadal or­ Djokovic to win the tornament

    From Ronald, on Mon 25 Aug 1:07PM

  10. yes we agree both OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL SINGLES­ WINNERS CAN WIN THIS US OPEN ~ good luck

    From Lucie D, on Mon 25 Aug 10:53AM

  11. novak can win us open if he vants

    From aleksandarmitic, on Mon 25 Aug 10:48AM

  12. hi tibi good to see nadal won olympic gold lets see if­ he can get his first us open and be well on the way to­ getting the full slam.

    From ralph, on Mon 25 Aug 10:10AM

  13. Originally posted by Eurosport: "Twelve months ago­ at the US Open Novak Djokovic reached his first grand­ slam final but left disappointed after losing to Roger­ Federer in a tough four-setter."

    Yeah, right, 4­ setter....

    From Tibor, on Mon 25 Aug 8:47AM

  14. He'll do great, I hope... It's time he won­ another GS, and Nadal's got two... :P He'll be­ playing better, since he has just won a medal, and­ knowing him, that's put him back on track..­ He's got what it takes, he just needs to let go and­ play like he can...
    Volimo te, Novace!!!

    From Andrea, on Sun 24 Aug 11:42PM

  15. ovi nas poznaju bolje nego mi sami sebe!

    From filipovabaka, on Sun 24 Aug 9:59PM

  16. I think the US winner may go to an unseeded player­ thios time. That's just my guess.
    Rafa is really­ tired. Federer is mentally ffukk'ed up. Djoko is­ too desperate to win. So somebody else more collected,­ in control of his emotions, good on serve and volley­ plus great resilience on long rallies is my guy to win.­ Sounds familiar? Your vote.

    From AndJustice4All, on Sun 24 Aug 7:03PM

  17. §§§§ we backing pretti Elena Dementieva & M­ Safin to have the winners cheques in their hands

    From Sfa D, on Sun 24 Aug 6:03PM

  18. Fair comment by Djoko. I think he's taking a leaf­ out of Rafa's book (Rafa always makes Fed­ favourite), which is a reasonable way of taking­ pressure off himself. Interesting comment about the­ balls. It's common to take the surface into account­ when analysing the prospects of different players but­ obviously the characteristics of the balls and how they­ interact with the surface is of primary importance. One­ would expect Djoko to have a very good tournament and­ he has to be considered one of the favourites. The­ comment about Murray is interesting. Despite his­ Olympic lapse, Murray showed in Toronto and Cincinnati­ that he's a player to be taken into account on this­ surface. All starts tomorrow, so we'll soon begin­ to get a better picture. CHEERS

    From rhymes450, on Sun 24 Aug 5:37PM

  19. this is a more grown up djoko speaking a shade less­ cocky but still maintaining a positive composure, yep i­ like it
    a definite improvement from earlier this year.­ lets now see how he does, interesting that he mentions­ he is so tired
    but then again it will be the same for­ all the top players, should be an interesting us open­ this year.

    From Pop, on Sun 24 Aug 1:56PM

  20. Djokivic always says he feels great.....etc....But not­ really a big fighter in the end he is luck of­ motivation and confidence that's why he always end­ up loosing the finals.....with plenty of excuses­ looser.

    From sagupaan1, on Sun 24 Aug 10:50AM
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