Tag: Novak Djokovic

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has postponed his wedding to aid his preparation for Wimbledon, according to the Daily Mail.

The world number two is currently on holiday in Ibiza, where he is holding his stag party, and it has been reported that he has changed his mind about marrying fiancée Jelena Ristic before the start of the tournament at SW19.

Guests for the couple’s wedding ceremony are rumoured to include current Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Russian women’s star Maria Sharapova, entrepreneur Richard Branson and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson.

They have been together for almost eight years, and became engaged last September.

While the 27-year-old’s rivals have been getting match practice on grass, the former world number one decided to take a break from tennis to help him prepare to regain his Wimbledon title that he won in 2011.

The six-time Grand Slam winner felt the need to distance himself from the sport after reaching the final of the French Open in his previous tournament, which he lost to world number one Rafael Nadal of Spain in four sets.

Results this week have shown that he may have made a wise decision, with Murray and Nadal both being knocked out in the third and second round of the Aegon Championships in London and the Gerry Weber Open in Halle respectively, as they both showed fatigue following longer runs at Roland Garros.

Ristic travels to watch her partner’s matches around the world, and she will have witnessed a mixed bag for Djokovic in 2014.

While he has won three Masters Series titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Rome, the four-time Australian Open champion has not managed to win a seventh major, and he has now lost in five of his last six Grand Slam finals.

His last Grand Slam triumph came at the Australian Open in 2013, and he will go into Wimbledon this year looking to shake off memories of the final last year, where he was beaten by Murray in three sets.

It took three hours, but Novak Djokovic reached his fifth Italian Open final.

The second-seeded Djokovic overcame a dropped first set to beat the hard- serving Milos Raonic 6-7 (5-7),7-6 (7-4),6-3 in the first of yesterday’s two semifinals on the red clay at Foro Italico.

Djokovic will be seeking his third title at this ATP Masters 1000 event. He won in 2008 and 2011 and was the runner-up in 2009 and 2012.

Raonic tested Djokovic’s serve early, earning two break points before the Serbian battled back to take the second game of the match.

A forehand error gave Djokovic double break point, but Raonic fired three consecutive aces to set up game point and held at 3-2 when Djokovic netted a backhand.

Djokovic fought off a set point in the 10th game and forced a tiebreak with a love service game. Down 3-0 in the tiebreak, Raonic won six straight points and secured the opening set when Djokovic fired a return long.

Raonic missed three chances to break early in the second set and a long backhand from the Canadian gave Djokovic the first break of the match and a 3-1 edge.

Djokovic, however, was broken in the next game and Raonic held to level the set at 3-3.

The second set remained on serve until the tiebreak, which Djokovic clinched on a Raonic backhand error.

Raonic saved one match point with the last of his 17 aces, but he netted a forehand to be broken a third time.

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-3, 7-6 (2) in an one-off match at Madison Square Garden on Monday, with the pair mixed the usual exhibition hijinks with some long rallies reminiscent of their epic Grand Slam meetings.

A born showman, Djokovic always has fun with the New York crowd at the US Open. When on a game point Monday he shanked an overhead into the net, the Serb did push-ups in penance.

It was the first time playing at the Garden for both.

“I was amazed by the size of it,” Djokovic said. “With the history in the world of sports and entertainment and music, it’s probably the most impressive and most important indoor facility in the world.”

Murray grimaced more than once after an unforced error as if he were a few miles away at Flushing Meadows. But he also high-fived a fan after hooking in a winner down the line. And the Brit provides plenty of entertainment value simply with his ability to run down nearly every ball.

Chasing a drop shot in the first set, Murray wound up all the way on Djokovic’s side of the court, bumping into a TV camera along the way. Djokovic went over and jokingly massaged Murray’s quad, lest he need a medical timeout.

During one changeover, they pulled their phones out of their bags and met at the net to take a couple of selfies. Both tweeted them during the next break.

“We might never get the chance to play here again,” Murray said. “Wanted to enjoy it. Hope everyone who came along had a good time as well. That was the whole point today.”

And he’s in a good mood after his surgically repaired back held up well following four matches in four days in Acapulco last week.