What Djokovic does is crazy: Troicki

Novak Djokovic enjoying his time at Wild Wadi with brother Marko

After being referred to as Serbian number two in the draw for the men's event of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday, Viktor Troicki was teased by the presenter, reminding him about the difficulty for him to become his country's number one player.

"Well, that's true. Having Novak (Djokovic) in our country, it's tough to take the cake. And I am not even the number one player in my city," Troicki joked.

Both Troicki and Djokovic hail from the same city -- Belgrade.

It's difficult indeed to live under the shadow of Djokovic in Serbia where he has become the biggest national icon despite the craze for football people have in that country.

Such was the pressure felt by Marko, Djokovic's younger brother, that he quit the game just a few years after starting his own professional tennis career.

When this reporter asked Vojin Velickovic (a senior Serbian tennis writer who is here to cover the Dubai championships) about why Marko has dropped off the radar, he gave an interesting reply.

"Well, he couldn't handle it. The pressure, I mean. It was too big for him. So he quit," Velickovic said.

"Everybody was watching him (in Serbia) because he was Novak's brother. Once he told me that he was playing a tournament where 200 people turned up when they got to know that Novak's brother was playing.

"But when they saw him play, they left cursing that he doesn't know anything!"

But Viktor Troicki is obviously no novice with a tennis racquet in hand.

The Belgrade-born player reached a career high ranking of 12 in 2011 and he is still a formidable force in the game.

So it made perfect sense to ask him about the Djokovic phenomenon.

"Obviously he is a great friend and I can learn so much from him. As a friend and as a player we all look up to him," Troicki smiled.

The current world number 21 then struggled in his attempt to explain how his famous compatriot has taken the game to a different level -- a level Rafael Nadal thinks tennis has never seen before.

"He does things differently. He was always a very serious player right from his junior days. He is obviously very talented and very professional. And now he has reached a level where he feels everything is under control," Troicki said.

"But honestly I don't know how he does all that. You have to ask him how he feels and how he plays at that unbelievable level. For me just looking at him is amazing. It's crazy what he does."

Djokovic, the 11-time Grand Slam winner, has won four of the last five Majors. And Troicki believes his Davis Cup teammate is unlikely to take his foot off the pedal.

"I think he can continue to dominate for at least six more years," said Troicki who might get to face Djokovic in the Dubai semifinals.

"Well, I am not thinking too far ahead. I will just take one match at a time. It's a very tough tournament here. And my first round rival is Marcos Baghdatis who we all know is a great player.

"I have won only one match against him, and lost three.

"So I have to be at my best. But yes, it will be nice if I can get to the semis and play Novak!"

rituraj@khaleejtimes.com