Serbia's Novak Djokovic sauntered around the players' lounge at Wimbledon last week engaging in light-hearted banter, occasionally peering at a monitor to check the scores from the courts outside. His cheeky, boyish face and jet black "brush-top" haircut make him easy to pick out from the crowd. His tennis, too, is making quite an impact.
The 20-year-old has shot up to world number five this year and, from being an exciting prospect, is now viewed as the man most likely to threaten the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal domination of men's tennis. Nadal says Djokovic is one of the funniest guys on the circuit with his imitations of other players. The engaging Djokovic loves having fun but what stands out most is his single-minded determination to be number one.
"My goal is to be the number one player in the world and I will do everything to achieve it," Djokovic, who left the chaos of Belgrade as a 12-year-old to train in Germany, told Reuters. "I've got 10 years ahead of me and even if I don't I'll be happy because I know I dedicated my life to tennis and I got a lot in return.
"I'm a bit surprised that I've developed so fast. But I knew I had the quality and I deserve to be where I am because I've worked very hard for this."
Seeded fourth at just his third Wimbledon (he reached the third round as a 17-year-old qualifier in 2004) Djokovic is clearly inspired by his surroundings. "Wimbledon is the title I've dreamed of," he said. "The emotions, the tradition. I mean, look, people sleeping on the pavements in the pouring rain to get tickets, it's amazing to see.
"When I watched Pete Sampras lifting the trophy on Centre Court I loved the sport from that moment on and I've put a lot of passion into it ever since."
Djokovic played on Centre Court for the first time against Italy's Potito Starace in the first round. He then beat American Amer Delic to reach the third round where he faces German Nicolas Kiefer on Monday. "Centre Court was a great experience even if you can't compare the match to the French Open semi against Rafa with 15,000 people shouting," he said. "It was my first time and I hope not the last."
For somebody so young and successful, who has made $1.5 million in earnings this year alone, Djokovic is a well-rounded individual. "I'm world number five and people may think, 'he's young, he won't stay there long'," he said. "I'm happy with my achievements but now I have another goal, you always search for more, but I'm in no hurry. "Now they say Novak, number five in the world, he has lots of money, but it's not like that. I've been through more difficulties than anybody can imagine, that made me strong and motivated."
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