Serbian Tennis: The Holy Trinity

With the French Open reaching its final stages now, the proof of the Serbian revolution in the sport is clear to see. Whilst this is lead by three players in particular, namely Novak Dokovic, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, it seems that the success in the sport will surely have a knock-on effect which will be far superior to the Henman-Rusedski years in Britain. The success of these three Serbian athletes has come largely from nowhere, all of them are in their early twenties and can be considered to be the first truly world-class athletes that the country has produced from the new post-war generation.

djokovic v8PAB 15990

It is always peculiar when a smaller country can go several years without any notable athletes in a sport only to see several then emerge at the same time. Similar to the Serbian phenomenon today was the rivalry between Belgian tennis stars Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin though in this comparison whilst the female players are matched there is was never a Belgian Dokovic. Several years back, if one was to try and predict which Balkan country would produce the true superstars of the tennis circuit then only a fool would have bet against Croatia. With its Dalmatian coast a perfect environment for training tennis hopefuls on countless red clay courts and with two ATP Tournaments, the PBZ Zagreb Indoors and the Croatia Open Umag, surely it would be the Croats who became the regional powerhouse? Maybe the Croats peaked too early possibly. Indeed, they did have great success, Goran Ivanisevic's 2001 Wimbledon triumph being one of tennis's, if not sport's, most memorable moments. Then there was the 2005 Davis Cup victory where the Croatian team spearheaded by Ivan Ljubicic went to Bratislava to defeat defending champions Slovakia in the final. Despite big names such as Ljubicic, Ancic and Karlovic, it seems that Croatia peaked too early because of these players only Ljubicic has come close to winning Grand Slam events. Whilst Iva Majoli did win the French Open in 1997, she was something of a surprise winner who will not be remembered as one of the sports true greats.

Of Serbia's three tennis stars of the moment, only one of them, Dokovic, has actually won a Grand Slam event. This is not a criticism, merely a warning that we should not get ahead of ourselves. Whilst it is possible that all three could continue to play for many years to come, it is not fair to expect them to be able to continually challenge for tournaments every time they play. Unlike Roger Federer or Pete Sampras before him, none of these players are robots. As Martina Hingis retired at the age of 22, then made a comeback at the age of 25 only to retire again at the age of 27, tennis players no longer play on the same circuit as Ivanisevic did, when a top player could remain competitive into his thirties. Having said that, Dokovic is only 21 and has won the Australian Open, reached the final of the US Open and got to the semi-finals of both Wimbledon and the French Open.

Whilst Dokovic can appear on countless billboards throughout Belgrade advertising banking services, it is a slight shame that he, as well as Ivanovic and Jankovic, does not actually live in his country. Based in Monaco, Dokovic clearly benefits from avoiding the taxes and countless autograph hunters who would plague him in Belgrade, but at the same time he has made it perfectly clear that his Serbian identity is very important to him. Humorously, at a tournament which he won last summer in Canada, during the presentation of his trophy the announcer mistakenly said that he was from Croatia. On a more dubious note, in February Dokovic sent a video message to the riotous crowds who had convened in Belgrade following Kosovo's independence. To what extent Dokovic should be becoming involved in such debates is questionable.

For British tennis fans Jankovic may be of particular interest. Whilst tabloid coverage often highlights how Ivanovic is considerably prettier, Jankovic has been romantically linked with her doubles partner, Jamie Murray, with whom she won the mixed-doubles at Wimbledon in 2007. Dokovic, Ivanovic and Jankovic seem to be here to stay for sometime given their high rankings and consistently excellent form. The Jankovic-Ivanovic semi-final means that one Serb will definitely be in a final, and whilst Raphael Nadal seems to be the man to beat on clay, it is hardly inconceivable that both trophies could be Serbia bound. Beyond the immediate, will the success for Serbia stop with this holy trinity or will it become sustainable with equally talented players emerging over the coming years? Time will tell.

Novak Dokovic official site

Ana Ivanovic official site

Jelena Jankovic official site

Serbia on Davis Cup official site

Croatia on Davis Cup official site