snije poražen je od tek nešto bolje plasiranog Pola Goldstina. Mnogi teniseri imali su problem da se pri- viknu na uslove u Australiji, leto usred januara, nepodnošljivih 50 stepeni u hladovini... Ne i Novak. Nastavio je da dolazi uprkos pora- zima. Već 2007, pre 20. rođenda- na, plasirao se u osminu finala, u kojem ga je pobedio Rodžer Fede- rer. Novak tek što se probio u top
20, dok je Švajcarac tada stigao do 11. grend slem trofeja. Danas su izjednačeni sa po 20. A onda se dogodila 2008. Đoković je u Melburn stigao kao treći igrač na planeti i počeo da ru- ši sve redom. Šestoricu, među koji- ma su lokalna legenda Lejton Hjuit i Federer, pobedio je sa 3 : 0 u se- tovima. U prvom grend slem fina- lu ga je dočekao Žo Vilfrid Conga, koji je mogao da uradi samo jed- nu stvar – da svoje ime upiše na listu poraženih.
Naredne dve godine, 2009. i 2010, stao je u četvrtfinalu i mno- gi su pomislili – to je to, Austra- lija je pojela još jednog šampiona. Ala su pogrešili. Đoković je pobe- đivao od 2011. do 2013. i tada je odigrao nekoliko istorijskih meče- va. Nadala i Marija, koji su bili u naponu snage, 2012. je dobio sa 7 : 5 u poslednjem, petom setu, da bi Vavrinku 2013. zaustavio tek sa 12 : 10, kada su svi pomislili da će se meč igrati u nedogled. Đoković je kasnije još pet puta slavio u Melburnu i trenutno je u seriji od 21 meča bez poraza. Svi se nadamo da će se serija nastaviti jer Nole juriša na svoju desetu au- stralijsku titulu od 17. do 30. ja- nuara. Kralj teniskog sveta vraća se u svoj omiljeni grad da potvrdi da mu još nema ravnog.
2016.
2019.
devet titula je već osvojio, a sada Nole juriša na svoj deseti australijski trofej Nine titles Nole already won, and now is chasing his 10 th Australian Open trophy
ic matches in the process. In 2021 he beat Nadal and Murray, both of whom were at the top of their game, 7:5 in the fifth and final set, while in 2013 he only stopped Wawrinka at 12:10, just when everyone was think- ing that the match would never end. Đoković has gone on to celebrate five more titles in Melbourne and is currently undefeated in 21 con- secutive matches. And we all hope that his run will continue, as Nole is chasing his 10 th Australian Open title from 17 th to 30 th January. The king of world tennis is returning to his favourite city to confirm that he remains without equal.
2020.
2021.
early as 2007, before his 20th birth- day, he advanced to the last-16, when he was defeated by Roger Federer. Novak had then just broken into the ATP Top 20, while the Swiss ace had already claimed his 11th Grand Slam trophy. Today they are on level terms with 20 grand slams each. And then 2008 happened. Đok- ović arrived in Melbourne ranked 3rd in the world and began demolishing everyone, one by one. He achieved 3-0 straight-set victories against
six of them, including local legend Lleyton Hewitt and Federer. He was awaited in his first Grand Slam fi- nal by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who on- ly proved able to one thing: add his name to the list of the vanquished. The next two years, 2009 and 2010, saw him stopped in the quar- terfinals, and many thought: ‘That’s that; Australia has consumed anoth- er champion’. But they were wrong. Đoković won consecutive titles from 2011 to 2013, playing several histor-
Tekst / Words: Aleksandar Pijevac Fotografije / Photography: Profimedia.rs
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