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  • Novak Djokovic still searching for hard court form in Beijing

    8/12/08 1:21 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - The Serbian world number three advanced in his first round match against Robby Ginepri, but not without some struggling. He will take on Germany’s surprise Wimbledon seminfinalist Rainer Schuettler.

    Novak Djokovic has not won a title in a while. After a fantastic start to the year, including pulling down his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Djokovic only managed to add two titles to the slam. He won the Masters titles in Indian Wells and Rome, but has won no titles since. He had a disappointing second round exit at Wimbledon, where he lost in straight sets to Marat Safin of Russia. Most recently he has gone down to Scotsman Andy Murray in Toronto and Cincinnati.

    Rainer Schuettler came out of nowhere to advance to the semifinals of Wimbledon. Previous to that tournament, the veteran German was ranked 94 in the world. The outstanding showing at the All-England Club bumped his ranking to 35. He has only played in Kitzbuhel since, where he reached the quarterfinals.

    Schuettler has the ability to make things difficult for Djokovic, but that is dependent on whether he comes into the match in the kind of form he enjoyed at Wimbledon. If he reverts to his pre-Wimbledon play, Djokovic will bully him around the court and dispense of the German in straight sets. Djokovic in straight sets.

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