I don't think Mac is gonna want to hear about his streak any longer since it ended so bitterly, losing a 2 set lead against his hated rival Lendl in the final in Paris.

I've heard it said that if somebody brings up that match in front of Mac, he'll punch them in the face. Well I don't think he's gonna be able to punch all the people who will bring it up in the next several days.

an article about djokovic on sports illustrated:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazin e/MAG1186004/1/index.htm

warning: its looooong.

after reading it, another warning: its emotional.

Thanks, mriiidula. Amazing article.

The article was nice but too long. Also it presents a somewhat misleading picture and does not really explore the factors behind the rise of Djoko.
Although Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are not as talented as Djoko , these girls are in the same age group. Both are former number 1s and Ana is a GS winner too. So there must have been something or some development or facilitating factor which explains why a small nation like Serbia has thrown up superstars in a particular age group at this time.

it is probably just a coincidence, but hopefully the serbs can ride the wave of success for the future.

@holdserver... there is no any common sense, facilitating development factor with lead to that result. If you read that article, you got little bit bigger picture about environment in which Serbian current generation grew up. Serbia in 90's was playing impossible game vs. World. If you are a kid, and when everything is against you, mummy and daddy can't do a thing about it, and no superhero jumps in to get you out of there... Well you start to realize that everything is on you, and you have to deal with it. If you got that as a kid, you have matured no matter what age... you have one life GS under your belt.

I am not their generation, but I played tennis as a kid and I do remember how it looked like. In summer, it was even but it is 4-6 months depending of weather. The rest of the year you are playing in empty factory halls, school courts late hours and weekends, and empty swimming pools... I did play in the same pool Ana Ivanovic did, and however it look awful, pitiful it was one of the better indoor courts and one of the best places to train over winter. As it was pool earlier, it had a heating unlike empty halls and schools during weekends.

So the best would be to get out of there and get some healthier environment. Your parents are making good money, so with triple than average salary (10 EUR) you are hoping that you will be able to go somewhere. With daily inflation of 64.6%, your trip will be 64.6% shorter every day you wait, your stay will be shorter with each new day.

If all that doesn't crush you, it... has to make you stronger. If you know that your parents sold appliances to buy you set of tennis balls... you will make so hard not to miss... Suddenly you know how to deal with pressure...

So someone might conclude that brutal reality, injustice, poverty makes you better tennis player. No it makes your lives miserable and you have to beat all that... you are trailing 0-40 at the start, and over and over until you prove yourself.

And did some of them had another choices, easier paths... Yes. All of them had offers for foreign citizenship, with Brits going so far offering that publicly for Novak.

So you might have now better picture, better understanding why Novak have Serbia written all over him, why he is pounding his chests so hard, why he keeps three fingers on his heart.

mriidula, thanks for the article.. for nole's fan, it's not too long though..

atg, thanks for sharing and picturing the reality. It has enlighten many parts of this article, some questions I had in my mind as well..

first round matchups for the french:
nadal-isner
djokovic-de bakker
murray-qualifier
federer-lopez

fed and nole same half, murray and nadal same half.

eesh, verdasco-monaco as well. what a draw!

potential third roun - nole vs delpo.

i think im the only one following the draw ceremony!

Another article worth reading:

http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/hot-shot-novak-djoko vic/