Novak Djokovic - Shows Us His Ball Skills

Courtesy: Daily Mail

As the newly-crowned World No.1 men's tennis player, Novak Djokovic is known for his ball skills.

But the Serbian star showed he's just as nifty with a football as he played in the Mediterranean yesterday.

Following his stunning season, the 24-year-old treated his girlfriend Jelena Ristic to a 
 sunshine break on the French Riviera.

On your head son: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic plays with a football as he holidays in St Tropez

Flirty: Djokovic appeared in a playful mood with his blonde girlfriend Jelena Ristic

Looking tanned and relaxed, the devout Orthodox Christian played with his blonde partner and their dog in the sea.

He recently hinted the couple are hoping to wed after noting improvements to married tennis players.
 

He said: '�It might even be good for my game. I have a feeling Roger Federer was much more relaxed after he got married and became a father. Maybe I�ll find the same experience.

Wedding bells? Djokovic has hinted he may marry his girlfriend

Swimming lessons: Djokovic lifted his girlfriend out of the water

His break comes less than two weeks after he knocked Spaniard Rafael Nadal off the top of the world ranking when he clinched the Wimbledon title.

Earlier this month,he was treated to a royal reception when he was greeted by 100,000 Serbians in Belgrade.

'This is absolutely unbelievable and I owe all of you eternal gratitude for this reception,' an elated Djokovic said as he held aloft the trophy. 

Furry friend: The couple shared a laugh as they held their dog aloft the water

'The time has come to bare all my emotions to you and all I can say is that you are the best in the world because only Serbian fans can throw a party like this. You have made the happiest day of my life even better and I dedicate this trophy to you.

'We have a soul that is second to none and with the team event coming up, I can promise you we will do everything in our power to win it all again.'

Djokovic and his two younger brothers then joined rock, pop and folk bands on stage as fans lit flares and waved Serbian flags.

The frenzy culminated when Djokovic and his family engaged in a traditional Serbian folk dance as fireworks lit the skies above Belgrade.  

Jubilant: Djokovic holds the winners trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships

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12:23 AM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Post Wimbledon Interview

Here is an interview with Novak post Wimbledon final. It is from the BBC so it may only work in the UK :-(

Click here

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Novak Djokovic - Post Wimbledon Final Interview

How have I missed this video, DOH!!

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Novak Djokovic - Wimbledon Trophy Photoshoot - Video

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Novak Djokovic - Belgrade Video

Lots of different videos on Youtube of Novak and crowd last night.  Here is a good one.

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Novak Djokovic - Homecoming Photos

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Novak Djokovic - A Hero's Welcome Home

Some 100,000 Serbian tennis fans gave Novak Djokovic a royal reception in central Belgrade on Monday after the 24-year-old arrived home to celebrate winning his first Wimbledon title.

Djokovic, who leapt to the top of the ATP rankings in the process, was greeted by a deafening roar as he arrived in an open-top bus which took hours to reach the Serbian parliament square from the airport.

Traffic on the main motorway ground to a halt as fans got out of their cars to salute Serbia's most popular athlete, whose entire family paraded alongside him on a giant stage where rock bands entertained the crowd.

"This is absolutely unbelievable and I owe all of you eternal gratitude for this reception," an elated Djokovic said as he held aloft the trophy he won with an emphatic four-set win over Spaniard Rafa Nadal in Sunday's final.

"The time has come to bare all my emotions to you and all I can say is that you are the best in the world because only Serbian fans can throw a party like this.

"You have made the happiest day of my life even better and I dedicate this trophy to you," said Djokovic, who will lead Davis Cup holders Serbia in their quarter-final tie away to Sweden next weekend.

"We have a soul that is second to none and with the team event coming up, I can promise you we will do everything in our power to win it all again," he added.

Djokovic and his two younger brothers then joined rock, pop and folk bands on stage in singing local chartbusters, as fans lit flares and waved Serbian flags.

Some of them produced banners taunting Nadal, who relinquished the world number one spot to his fierce rival.

"Are you watching this from Madrid, Rafa, and keep practicing that backhand of yours," said one of them.

The frenzy culminated when Djokovic and his family engaged in a traditional Serbian folk dance as fireworks lit the skies above Belgrade on a warm evening.

"Young people are here in droves because they look up to this extraordinary young man and draw inspiration from his accomplishments," said former Davis Cup coach Radmilo Armenulic.

"He is a role model and a true champion, finding the strength and willpower in his family and close friends, which is the best way to keep your life on the rails.

"As for his game, I am in no position to give him any advice because he is so superior on the court," said Armenulic.

Former handball international Igor Butulija added: "As a former top-level athlete I know how much more difficult it is to reach the top as an individual, hence Djokovic's triumph must stand as the most remarkable achievement in Serbia's history."

Courtesy: Reuters

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Novak Djokovic - Fans Celebrate in Belgrade

More fan celebrations in Serbia

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Novak Djokovic - Official Wimbledon Ball Photos

I love how Novak & Petra swapped trophies.

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Novak Djokovic - Belgrade Parties

I hope this link works.

Here are some fans celebrating in Belgrade

BBC

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Novak Djokovic - Losing The Fear

by Pete Bodo

LONDON�He was the guy who wasn't supposed to win this thing, the loose-jointed, long-limbed interloper from the unfamiliar, exotic outpost, Serbia. His hair looked like a pelt and his clipped accent suggested something harsh and indurate, something that might break, but would not bend and yield. And he had the unenviable task of stepping into a fascinating, beautifully-balanced and universally celebrated relationship between two great tennis players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal�an affiliation in which mutual admiration often appeared in danger of overwhelming and diluting that which most people wanted the bond to be, a rivalry.

It wasn't easy being Novak Djokovic because it's never easy being the spoiler, or the third wheel, and it was especially difficult in those early days when Djokovic was still new on the scene. Slowly, though, he began to win us over. We began to see that the loose-limbs harbored something neither Federer nor Nadal really had, an astonishing, unprecedented degree of elasticity that would enable Djokovic to control balls that most of his peers could only lunge for as they whistled by. That those long limbs of the interloper enabled him to eat up ground and reach and re-direct balls as if they were coming off the flipper of a pinball machine.

At the same time, Djokovic revealed that he has an unexpectedly impudent side, undercutting that vague sense of unease he planted in some with his militaristic bearing. That hair? It began to look kind of cute; tell the truth, haven't you at some point wondered what it would be like to run your palm over it? But that spoiler thing, that was hard to get over. That Roger and Rafa Show was the longest running entertainment in tennis (You'll laugh, you'll cry, its better than Cats!) and it seemed downright misanthropic to expect, never mind wish, that it would end, that we would move on.

Well, today we officially moved on. The death grip in which Roger and Rafa have held Wimbledon since 2003 is broken. Federer has stalled in the quarterfinals in three of the last six Grand Slam events he's played, and today Djokovic beat the defending Wimbledon champion Nadal in four tense, gritty sets to bag his first Wimbledon title. The score, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, articulates the jagged, uneven nature of this odd clash�it was an alternating battle for domination, simple enough stuff, ruled for almost the entire way by Djokovic. But the fact that Djokovic could impose himself on Nadal so comprehensively, for such long periods, surely was surprising. This was not a routine win, this was a declaration. I'm here, and I'm here to stay.

For Djokovic, today's match was the fruition of a long, enormous, ennervating process by which he had to overtake two men who were at their absolute peak at exactly the moment that Djokovic was trying to emerge and establish himself as a potential rival. If there was more than a glint of serendipity in Federer's debut during the end of the Pete Sampras era; the same could not be said for the task Djokovic faced at around the time he won his first major, the Australian Open of 2008.

"Well, we all know the careers of Nadal and Federer. We don't need to spend words again. They have been the two most dominant players in the world the last five years," Djokovic said after his win today. "They have won most of the majors we are playing on.

"So sometimes it did feel a little bit frustrating when you kind of get to the later stages of a Grand Slam, meaning last four, last eight, and then you have to meet them. They always come up with their best tennis when it matters the most.

"But, look, you know, it's a process of learning, a process of developing and improving as a tennis player, as a person, and just finding the way to mentally overcome those pressures and expectations and issues that you have.

"I always believed that I have quality to beat those two guys. I always believed I have quality to win majors, Grand Slams, and that was the only way I could be here in this position, you know. I mean, I have full respect for those two guys, what they have done. Anytime I play them, I mean, it's a great match. But the mental approach has to be positive. You know, (you tell yourself) I have to win this match. There's no other way."

This year, Djokovic was in a position to believe it when he said that to himself. And just as important, his rivals were a little more disposed to believe it, too. Perhaps oddly, it all goes back to the winter of 2010, and that win by Serbia in the Davis Cup. A reporter who spoke with Djokovic's mother told him that she had said that Davis Cup triumph finally taught Djokovic to "play without fear."

"Well, if my mother says that, then it's like that, you know. There is nothing else I can say." Djokovic laughed along with everyone else at his analysis. But he went on in serious vein. "No, really, it is. . . After the Davis Cup win I was full of life, full of energy, eager to come back to the tennis court, eager to play some more, win some other tournaments. In a sentence, I lost my fear. I believed in my abilities more than ever. Australia was one of the best tournaments I played in my life."

That might be the case, but Wimbledon was not far behind. The salient points of the final were the beginning, where an unexpected and out-of-character lapse by Nadal resulted in the pair of forehand errors that gave Djokovic a first set�that, to that point, had been fought over on fairly even terms. Djokovic dominated the second set, but he experienced a lapse of his own to lose the third. The convenient interpretation is that he got tight; the reality more surprising.

"I think I went the opposite way," he said. "I relaxed a little bit too much in the start of the third set. I wasn't focused. . . It was kind of my fault letting him back to the match. But in the fourth set I was in the lead for all the time. The first game was very important to hold the serve. After that, it was really great tennis."

I have to veer from this celebration of Djokovic's remarkable week (As he said of locking up the No. 1 ranking and winning Wimbledon, all within a 72-hour period: "I managed to achieve a lifetime goal and I managed to make my dream come true, all in three days' time. It's just an incredible feeling that I'm never going to forget. This is the best day of my tennis career.") to draw some attention to how admirably Nadal took this not-so-small setback. Here's an excerpt from his thoughtful, touching and supremely honest�and classy�press conference.

When you read the transcript, you'll find this critical extract buried in what had to be the longest response he's ever given in a presser:

"Probably the mental part is little bit dangerous for me, because when I arrive to the 5-4, I played a bad game with 30-love. When I arrived to 4-3 of the fourth set, I played another bad game with my serve. That's what I say: to win these kind of matches, I have to play well, these kind of points can change the match.

"When I had the break point at the first set, at the first game of the fourth set, I didn't play well that point. That was a big moment for me. Because I came back after 6-1, start the fourth with a break can change everything. I didn't play well these moments. That's what happened in Indian Wells, that's what happened in Miami, and that's what happened here. I don't want to count in Madrid and Rome because he played much better than me.

"But these three times, that's what happened. And to change that is probably be little bit less nervous than these times, play more aggressive, and all the time be confident with myself. That's what I gonna try next time. If not, I gonna be here explaining the sixth."

When it was all over, we all witnessed a truly unusual event at Wimbledon�a screw-up in the presentation ceremony. The microphones used by Sue Barker and the finalists in the on-court post-match interview wouldn't function. When Rafa realized that he was not being heard, he looked befuddled, glanced around, and asked, "What happened?"

Indeed. He may be asking himself some variation on that question for some time.

Courtesy: Tennis.com

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Novak Djokovic - Wimbledon Houses

LONDON (Reuters) - A small mountain of dirty towels, stray underwear left in the washing machine or a pile of well-worn tennis shoes are some of the souvenirs landlords in southwest London often find when they return home after letting out their houses to players competing at Wimbledon.

They are the lucky ones.

"A Swedish player, who is now a coach, once left the house (he was renting) suddenly without informing anyone that he was leaving early," Joanna Doniger, who runs a short-term letting agency that specialises in renting out private homes to players during the Wimbledon fortnight, told Reuters in an interview.

"The owner went back five days later and saw that there was an infestation of flies as it was a really hot summer and food had been left out to rot.

"She then went into what had been her white bathroom and it had turned green because there was mold growing everywhere. The player had left the hot shower running and the steam caused the mold growth. The owner was very, very upset and beyond angry."

Surely that scene must have convinced the owner never to let out her house again?

"Of course not. Not when the homeowners can earn three times the going rate for a short-term let," added the bubbly Doniger, who rents out around 150 properties every June through her company Tennis London.

Residents who live within walking distance of the All England Club can land a windfall every summer if they are willing to vacate their homes for at least two weeks during the grasscourt major.

In an area which lacks hotels, one-bedroom flats can earn 1,000 pounds ($1,598.500) a week while a top-end, five-bedroom house has a price tag of 10,000 pounds ($15,985.000) a week.

In the 17 years Doniger has been in the business, she has built up a client list that has included the greats of the sport -- such as Pete Sampras, the Williams sisters, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer - and thrives on the challenge of finding houses that meets their varied tastes and needs.

BEST CHAIRS

Businessman Chris Lim has a two-bedroom, ground-floor flat in a building once owned by the Dutch Royal family and was suitably excited when he discovered his home would be taken over by tennis royalty.

"I'm a keen tennis player myself and was very excited when I found out Roger Federer was staying here. I had another home before this one in Springfield Avenue up in the Village and he stayed there the first time he won Wimbledon. So he has stayed at two of my properties," Lim told Reuters.

"Apparently his reason for staying here was because he liked my furniture - even if he did put it in the car park. I saw some pictures in the papers with my best leather chairs in the gravel drive. (I) did think that was a bit cheeky but there was no damage.

"This is where he slept," Lim added showing off a dark-wood, four-poster bed dressed in pristine white linen.

Landlords such as Lim get a rare glimpse into the lifestyles of their VIP tenants.

"His coach at the time was staying with him and they did a lot of cooking. He left some food behind in the fridge. There seemed to be a lot of ingredients they had bought like chillies and spices. They were obviously cooking," said Lim, who has also rented his flat to former top-10 American James Blake.

"There was also a lot of red wine consumed but whether that was Roger or his coach you'd never really know."

Lim also found an unexpected stash had been left behind for him one year.

"I'm not sure if it was after Roger Federer or James Blake stayed here, but I came in through the front door and into the hallway and there was a stack of towels left there like a pyramid," he said.

"They were all Wimbledon towels but they were the cheap, white ones. They weren't the nice ones you see them go on court with. But they were all dirty. So I had them all laundered and I have been using them for years. I had about 30 or 40 of them and I'm now down to the last six or seven."

NADAL'S KNICKERS

Lim's experience is not an isolated case.

"Often owners come back and find a lot of tennis clothes left for them," explained Doniger, whose company takes a 15 percent cut of each rental and turns over about half a million pounds a year.

"Tennis shoes, tennis balls, clothes, they are always leaving those behind. They are usually worn, left in the washing machine... forgotten. I once had Nadal's knickers left behind," she grinned.

"You should see some of the shoes left behind. John Isner's shoes are huge, they are like this," Doniger, 56, indicated by holding her hands about a meter apart. "He needs a suitcase for each shoe."

Her partner Ken, who is roped in to help during the championships, added: "They (players) get a lot of clothes and shoes from their sponsors so it's not worth their while packing."

During the Wimbledon fortnight, Doniger's black Mini becomes the nerve center of her business and she can be seen whizzing around the streets surrounding the All England Club.

Despite its small size, she crams a multitude of items in every available space in the car.

"Players are far too focused on tennis to have prima donna demands. They want something very spacious, very modern, very clean and very private.

"The one thing they do want is blackout blinds. I have to go and put up blackout blinds.

"We travel in the car with yards and yards and yards of material for blackout blinds. We have scissors and Velcro and staple guns. Everything goes in the Mini."

From Monday, Doniger and her Mini will once again retreat back to their Chelsea base -- for the next 50 weeks anyway.

Courtesy: Reuters

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Novak Djokovic - News Round-up

Novak is the man making the headlines today. Here is a selection of stories from around the world.

New York Times

The Times of India

Daily Maverick

The Independent

Business Insider

Guardian

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Novak Djokovic - Wimbledon Ball Photos

Here is the link to Novak's Twitter site where he has uploaded photos from last night's Wimbledon Ball.

Enjoy

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Novak Djokovic - The Grass Tasted Good

Courtesy & Video: Official Wimbledon Website

It was a composed Novak Djokovic who came in to meet the world's press after the final, reflecting on his new-found status at the top of the tennis tree. If the air up there was heady, it did not show as he spoke calmly about the "best day of my life".

The new Wimbledon champion and world No.1 did, however, permit himself a few smiles on recalling he not only kissed the Centre Court grass as part of his celebration, but actually ate a few blades of it too.

"It tasted really quite good," he reported with a grin. "It's well kept. I don't know how to describe the feelings

I had in the moment when I won. The best feeling I ever had on a tennis court. Winning Wimbledon, looking at my box, 20 people, the closest people to me in my life being there, supporting me, getting to share that moment and that experience with them... it was incredible.
"
I don't know why I ate the grass. I felt like an animal! I wanted to see how it tastes. It came spontaneously. I didn't plan to do it. I didn't know what to do in all my excitement and joy."

Perhaps it will become a new tradition among Wimbledon winners. The old ritual of climbing up to the players' box to be with loved ones was eschewed by both Petra Kvitova and Djokovic this year. From now on, perhaps it will become de rigueur to snack on the grass before receiving the trophy - all thanks to Djokovic.

As for success, the Serb has acquired enough experience in his 24 years to know it can be a complicated business. So many observers expected so much more from him after he won his first Grand Slam, in Australia three years ago. Instead his tennis faltered. So now he feels in a position to understand fully the enormity of what he has achieved here.

He explained: "After I won my first Slam, actually then I started facing some feelings and situations I never faced before - defending the title, being one of the top players, facing the pressure, people's expectations all the time to go far in the major events, to get to the semi-finals at least.

"And I was facing periods that were up and down. I would be lying to you if I said I didn't have doubts. I did have difficult times of crisis where I didn't know if I could really make it, because Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were so dominant."

So it really did matter coming in to this match that in all four of his previous matches against the Spaniard this year, Djokovic had emerged victorious. Nadal admitted as much in his own post-final musings and Djokovic agreed.

"Probably," he nodded. "I had that in the back of my mind. I was trying to take myself back to those matches and perform in the same way that I did on those days - be aggressive, take my chances, not give him the opportunity to take back control."

It worked. So what now? Celebrations, of course - "how the Serbs celebrate" he grinned - but then what?

"I will definitely come for some more Wimbledons, more Grand Slam trophies," he smiled. And the chance to represent his country at the Olympics when the tennis is staged at Wimbledon next summer?

"I have achieved the two biggest things in my life in the last three days, but I will definitely not stop here. I want to be a tennis champion. This is what I am born for."

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Novak Djokovic - A Few More Trophy Photos

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Novak Djokovic - Wimbledon Champion Photos

The winning moment & trophy photos.

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Novak Djokovic - Wimbledon Final Photos

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