Novak Djokovic

It was clear from an early age that Novak Djokovic was destined to be a star in the world of tennis. Djokovic took up tennis as a four year old, and began attending summer training camps to improve his skill. By the time he was eight years old, coach Jelena Gencic remarked that Djokovic was, “the greatest talent I have seen since Monika Seles.”

Under Gencic’s coaching, Djokovic finished the 2001 season as the European champion in singles, doubles and team matches, all while still just fourteen years old. The next year, he was ranked as the number one under-16 player in Europe, winning ‘La Boule’ and ‘La Poet’ tournaments in France. In addition, he also won the Prince’s Tournament in Miami, and ended the year as the 40th best-ranked player in the world.

In 2003, Djokovic entered his first professional tennis match, and earned his first ATP point. Following his appearance at the Challenger tournaments in Belgrade in 2005, Djokovic began to devote himself to playing professional tournaments and working on his world ranking. That same year, he qualified for Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris and London. His third round appearances in New York and Paris, as well as his win over Top-10 ATP player Mariano Puerta, helped Djokovic to end 2005 ranked 78th in the world.

Picking up in 2006 immediately where he had left off the year before, Djokovic won his first ATP tournaments, first in the Dutch city of Amersfort, and then in Metz. The next year, Djokovic racked up an impressive series of finishes. He made the semi0-finals in Rotterdam, as well as the final in Indian Wells, and then captured the win at Miami. This followed with wins at the Estoril tournament, and at Montreal, where he beat tennis greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick. He finished the season by winning his fifth title of the year at Vienna and was ranked the third best player on the planet.

Since then, Djokovic has continued to impress in 2008. With wins at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, he has now positioned himself as one of the clear favorites for a gold medal, this summer in Beijing.