Date:03/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/03/stories/2009010361201700.htm

Sport - Tennis

Tipsarevic’s second appearance

Sports Reporter

Chennai: With his famed academic pursuit and a feisty style, Janko Tipsarevic brings a much-needed dimension to men’s tennis.

The 24-year-old Serb, making his second appearance in Chennai, had an intense practice session in the outside courts at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium on Friday evening.

The Serb had a good start to 2008, making it to the fourth round of the Australia Open, before Roger Federer prevailed in the marathon five-setter; but injuries were a problem thereafter.

“My ranking didn’t improve that much, but the good thing is I have improved as a player. It was a superb start to the season with the fourth round appearance in the Australian Open. My target for the year then was to be seeded for the French Open. It was a mix of not using that chance I had and injuries that hampered the rest of the year. I blame myself for it.

“Also the injuries were horrible. I had to retire from five matches and pulled out of six events. The good thing last year was that I proved to myself that I could play at the level I did against Federer. My problem was in not playing the big matches properly; but the match against Federer changed that.”

Despite his injury-plagued year, 2008 proved a remarkable one for Serbian tennis in general after the Grand Slam successes of Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic, and Jelena Jankovic ending the year as the WTA’s No.1 player.

“Serbian tennis came to the top from nowhere. There was no assistance from the government and we didn’t have any federation. For me and for some others I know well, you could attribute the success to luck.”

On his decision to play in the 14th edition of the Chennai Open, he said, “I was here three years ago and really liked the tournament. I had good experience here. I was basically looking for a change of scene and atmosphere. I played in Doha for three years and wanted something else this year.”