da li pada kralj? down goes the king, long live the king!

NAKON objave vijesti u kojemu otac najboljeg srbijanskog tenisača Novaka Đokovića najavljuje napuštanje Srbije, beogradski list Press u četvrtak objavljuje kao senzacionalno da su "Hrvati izuzetno zainteresirani ponuditi svoje državljanstvo Đokoviću".

Press, navodno, saznaje da su, "čim su čuli da Đokovići nisu zadovoljni uvjetima u Srbiji, čelnici hrvatskog sporta, ali i same hrvatske države, skovali plan kako pridobiti Đokovića, i tako pored Ivana Ljubičića, Marija Ančića i Ive Karlovića, dobiti još jednog vrhunskog tenisača". Glavni argument je taj što je Novaku Đokoviću majka rodom iz Vinkovaca, tvrdi Press.

Press dalje piše kako "nije slučajno što je Đoković dočekan nevjerovatnim ovacijama na ATP turniru u Umagu i što je hrvatska publika bezrezervno navijala za jednog Srbina".

Također, Novaku se daje ogromna pozornost u hrvatskim medijima, gotovo svi ugledniji listovi objavili su velike razgovore sa njim tijekom trajanja turnira, a posebno im je zanimljiva priča o promjeni državljanstva.

Uostalom, zaključuje Press, finalu u Umagu nazočio je predsjednik Hrvatske Stjepan Mesić, ali i predsjednik Crne Gore Filip Vujanović, što nije nimalo slučajno".

U tekstu se potom kaže kako je "Novakov otac Srđan Đoković priznao da postoji veliko zanimanje iz drugih država za njegova sina, a prije svih se spominjala Velika Britanija. On se u intervjuu Pressu od srijede vrlo pohvalno izrazio o tretmanu Hrvata prema svojim sportašima.

Press,koji je tabloidni list, međutim u četvrtak piše kako "Srđan Đoković kaže da bi veoma dobro razmislio ako bi dobio ponudu Hrvata i da bi je gotovo sigurno odbio".

"Ja u ovom trenutku mogu samo reći da je Novak izuzetno dobro primljen u Umagu. Publika je bila listom uz njega, navijanje je bilo superkorektno, čak tvrdim da je postao ljubimac umaške publike. Ne želim se izjašnjavati da li će i kada moj sin uopće otići iz Srbije i uzeti drugo državljanstvo. Pogotovo je na ovim prostorima osjetljivo sve što je u svezi s Hrvatskom. Svakako da o toj opciji ne razmišljamo", kazao je Đokovićev otac, koji je dodao kako nije u pitanju samo Novak, nego i njegova dva mlađa, ali jednako talentirana sina Marko (15) i Đorđe (11).

Đoković tvrdi da razlog za eventualno napuštanje Srbije nikako ne bi bio financijski, već isključivo stav države prema vrhunskim sportašima.

"Da sam jurio novac to bih uradio kada je Novak bio sedamnaestogodišnjak. Sada imamo sasvim dovoljno i materijalno u ovom trenutku ne igra nikakvu ulogu. Mi imamo dovoljno, ja mogu da financijski poduprem i Marka i Đorđa i bilo kakva špekulacija da sam želio neku korist od teniskog kampa kojeg sam htio otvoriti, ne stoji. Želio sam samo da obitelj bude skupa", zaključuje Srđan Đoković.

U napisu se kaže i da Novak Đoković trenutačno ide redovno na terapiju ramena i podlaktice, kao i da te ozljede nisu teže prirode, te da je predaja finalnog dvoboja u Umagu isključivo plod iscrpljenosti.

U okviru istoga teksta Press navodi kako ni "crnogorske vlasti ne sjede skrštenih ruku kada je u pitanju angažiranje Novaka Đokovića".

Nazočnost crnogorskog predsjednika Filipa Vujanovića na finalu turnira u Umagu može se opravdati posjetom Hrvatskoj, ali i ne mora, tvrdi Press, jer Crnogorci ciljaju na crnogorsko podrijetlo obitelji Đoković kao glavni adut.

sledeći pressov senzacionalizam,
da kažem da nije nimalo slučajno da su organizatori u Montrealu Novaka predstavili kao Hrvata,
i da se Novak folirao kada je u ceremoniji rekao da on nije Hrvat nego Srbin,
kada je očigledno da je u duši Hrvat!
nije slučajno da njega u Hrvatskoj tako vole!

Ana



Novak se šabaniše uz model-ženu tokom modne izložbe u sklopu turnira u Montrealu

Me, Too: Jankovic wants to add to Serbian success

By Kamakshi Tandon

TORONTO—Sunday was a day of triumph for Serbian tennis, but Jelena Jankovic missed it all.

While her compatriots Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic gave the country a sweep of the week’ titles by winning the Rogers Cup in Montreal and the EastWest Bank Classic in Los Angeles, Jelena Jankovic spent much of the day in another setting that's familiar to tennis players – an airplane.
“I flew all day yesterday, I didn’t have a chance to watch anything,” she said, after arriving in Toronto for the Rogers Cup from Los Angeles.

But Jankovic didn’t have to see the match to know Djokovic had produced something special. With 20-year-old became the first player to defeat both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the same event, defeating the No. 2 and No. 1 ranked players back-to-back over the weekend.

“Big congrats to Novak, he has done something amazing, beating Nadal and Federer at the same tournament – it’s not something that happens every day,” said Jankovic. “I hope he can continue like this and do something big time at the US Open.”

Ivanovic’s victory wasn’t quite as sweet for Jankovic, given that it came at her expense in the semifinals. Jankovic was a point away from leading 5-1 in the third set and had two match points at 5-4 on Ivanovic’s serve.

“I never should have lost that match. I felt I was the better player and I had everything under my control and I let it slip away,” she said. Though admitting that Ivanovic came up with some big shots at big moments, Jankovic partly attributed the loss to a lingering flu. “Physically, I was very tired and my level dropped when it was the most important.”

The effects are slowly wearing off. “I’m still blowing my nose but otherwise I feel okay,” she said. “I used to feel very tired... sore throat, fever, couldn’t get out of bed. But now I can do everything.”

Getting sick on the heels of a post-Wimbledon vacation meant that Jankovic went nearly a month without playing – practically unheard of for the indefatigable Serb. She has played 28 events in the past year, more than anyone else in the Top 10, capped by a stretch of nine straight weeks through Wimbledon.

“I’m a player who likes to compete,” she said. “I’m not a player who likes to spend many hours on the practice court; practice four months and then go to play one tournament, practice again. I’m not about that.”

Right now, Jankovic’s sights are firmly set on the US Open – if she does well there, she might ease up on herself a little. “Now it’s very important for me to do well at the US Open. Maybe if I do so well, I don’t have to play – I will play maybe a couple of tournaments and that’s it, wait for the Masters [year-end championships],” she said.
Her Grand Slam results so far this year have been modest – the fourth round at the Australian Open, the semifinals at the French Open and the third round at Wimbledon. But those losses were to Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Marion Bartoli, respectively – Serena and Henin eventually won the title while Bartoli reached the final.

“You look at my draw in the French Open third round, Venus. In Australia fourth round, Serena. It’s like everywhere I play, I have the toughest draw you could possibly have, and I’m supposed to be the seed,” she said plaintively.

Jankovic still goes into matches against Venus and Serena with confidence – “for some reason, I have a positive record playing the Williams sisters” – but Henin is a different matter.

All but one of their six career matches have gone three sets, but Jankovic has never come away the winner. At times this year, she has despaired of ever beating the Belgian, even attributing her win at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome to the fact that Henin skipped the tournament.

“Sometimes it can be also mental,” she said. “When you lost so many matches against that person, you’re kind of – ‘I have to do it.’ You have to find a way. A few little things here and there can make a big difference.”

Last year, Henin came from a set and a break down set to win their US Open semifinal, leaving Jankovic bitterly disappointed. This year, it only makes her more determined to make a Grand Slam breakthrough at New York in a couple of weeks’ time. With two semifinals already under her belt, only a final or a victory would produce real satisfaction.

Still, Jankovic did have the thrill of becoming the first player from modern Serbia to win a Grand Slam title when she and Scot Jamie Murray took the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon. Their lighthearted run to the title delighted the British crowds and created plenty of peripheral amusement along the way.

“A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam,” she said. “Obviously, I would prefer to win in singles, it would be huge for me, it would be a dream come true. But still, having a Grand Slam title in the mixed doubles is great too.”

A trip to the Wimbledon Champions Ball was part of the reward. “We dressed up. I had a long dress, and the men wore tuxedos, quite elegant, and we were sitting on the tables,” she said. “It was a lot fun, just being surrounded by all the champions and just a great feeling to be there.”

But Jankovic’s Open ambitions mean the prospect of a New York reunion is currently on ice. The questions keep coming, but means to make up her mind only nearer the time. Might he find himself another teammate if she takes too long to decide? Her eyebrows arched skeptically. “He is kind of playing some games, he is trying to get me into it,” she laughed. “I would love to play again with him. I think he wants it quite badly, to have me as his partner. But my No. 1 priority is singles.”

After being overshadowed last week, a win in Toronto or reaching the final weekend of the US Open would vault Jankovic back up with the rest of the Serbian trio. All will go in as US Open contenders, but while Djokovic will be the flagbearer on the men’s side, the women’s side will have two representatives jostling for position.

Both Ivanovic and Jankovic shrug off suggestions of a fierce national competition, but their sugar and spice combination is increasingly looking like a successor to the fraught inter-Belgian rivalry between Henin and the now-retired Kim Clijsters.

“Belgium’s time is over,” joked Jankovic. “Now it’s going to be Serbian domination.”

Sound Bites

"It's a huge achievement for Serbian tennis to have three top-5 players in the world. For such a small country, for Serbia, it’s not something that happens everyday. And people should be really proud of that and just enjoy while it lasts. Because who knows after we retire after five or ten years, if there will be another Jelena or Ana or Novak who will ocme up after us."
– on Serbia's recent success in tennis.

“If I was in better physical shape, if I was better prepared, I could play not just singles, doubles, mixed doubles. If I could play 100 matches a day, I would love to do that. But I’m not there.”
– on not yet making a decision about playing mixed doubles at the US Open.

"You feel maybe unlucky, why did you catch it, you know. But we travel some much our immue system gets weaker. Sometines you cannot help it."
– on the virus that has hit a numberof WTA players this summer.

"This makes you a lot stronger. You match up against the best players and you see what you have to work on, where your level is at, your potential. At the moment I’m the No. 3 player and my main goal is to work on my game, to get better and better.
– on feeling like she always gets the toughest draws.