Doubles delight at last for Djokovic brothers

Novak Djokovic and his younger brother Marko finally broke their losing streak as doubles partners. The Djokovic siblings had previously partnered each other five times and ended up on losing side on every occasion.
The Court One at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash complex finally brought them some luck though, as Novak and Marko won their opening round match at the Qatar Exxonmobil Open, which began Monday.
It wasn’t a cake walk for the Serbian pair as they had to comeback from a mid-match slump to register a 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 win over Qatar’s Mubarak Shannan Zayid and his Turkish partner Cem Ilkel.
The packed crowd got a rare glimpse of the Djokovics in action together. The last time the two had played together was when they lost to Nikolay Davydenko and Dick Norman in 2013 at the Dubai Open first round. The Djokovic brothers had debuted as a pair at the Croatia Open Umag in 2007 -- when they lost to France's Mathieu Montcourt and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round.
It turned out to be sixth time lucky for Novak and Marko, as they celebrated each point like they would have done in their Belgrade backyard during their childhood.
“Well, I'm glad to end 2018 with a win with my brother on the court,” beamed Novak, the World No. 1 singles player, later. “That was a very special moment. We played so far I think maybe four or five tournaments together, doubles, and we've never won a match, so today was a day we will remember together,” he added.
The real Novak will be on show Tuesday though, as he bids for this third Qatar Exxonmobil Open singles title, with a first round match against Bosnain Damir Dzumhur. Novak, a champion here in 2016 and 17, is on a 10-match winning run in Doha and is the overwhelming favourite for the golden Falcon trophy.
But Novak had bigger things on his sights as the 31-year-old opened up about his ambitions in the New Year. The 14-time Grand Slam champion felt that big four of tennis – himself, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – were still the favourites to win Grand Slam titles in 2019, but did not rule out the younger generation to spring a surprise in the majors.
“Judging by the last ten years and the dominance of the four guys in the Grand Slams, I think still if we are healthy and if we are playing well, the four guys still have probably the best chance to always win Slams because of the experience and just understanding of what it takes to win that title,” he said.
Novak was quick to add that the next generation is already in contention and singled out Germany's World No. 4 Alexander Zverev, Croatia's No. 12 Borna Coric and Greece's No. 15 Stefano Tsitsipas as the ones to most likely make a breakthrough.
“And in terms of the next generation, they are already there in terms of the rankings. You have Zverev who is now an established top five player in the world. For several years in a row he's been winning Masters events and he won World Tour Finals in 2018, which is a great win.
“And then you have Tsitsipas and Coric and guys like that proving they can win against the top players of the world. And it's a matter of time when we will see some of them competing in the last stages of Grand Slams. Whether that's going to happen the next season or not, nobody knows, really,” the Serbian noted.
Novak also hinted that he may adopt a lighter schedule in the upcoming years in order to spend more time with his wife and two kids.
“Obviously, main focus and objectives are Grand Slams. That's where I want to be able shine and play my best. And the top ATP tournaments, of course, I will try to play with full season as I have in the past, but things are different nowadays with two kids and a family. That is obviously a priority for me. So, I have to always try to find a balance between the two and kind of try to satisfy both the professional needs, but also the private ones,” he said.