It’s my birthday today and Novak Djokovic gives me another reason to celebrate. The 2011 Wimbledon Champion wins Rogers Cup for the third time and as the defending champion. This ATP Masters tournament before US Open is his third title of the year. His first was Australian Open last January and the second was against Andy Murray in Miami.
Personally, I found this win so unexpected considering he just came back from London Olympics and failed to win a medal for his country. Novak’s physical and mental fitness is clearly tested due to long travel and the playing surface is switched from grass to harcourt.
As a matter of fact, his draw in Rogers Cup was never easy. Novak needed to win two matches in one day against Sam Querrey (USA) and former World #2 Tommy Haas (Germany) due to rain delays before making the semifinal, in which he defeated his compatriot (Janko Tipsarevic) in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.
Novak is up against Richard Gasquet (France) in the finals and to my surprise, the entire match only lasts for an hour and a minute 6-3, 6-2.
You’ll see a thrilling rally between the two in the video below:
“The losses I had in the Olympic Games gave me even more desire to come here and perform my best and try to win a title. I am very happy to be in this position. I truly did not expect to win this tournament after the emotional losses in the Olympics. I really took it hard and tried to bounce back and recover. And I’ve done great, I have to say.”
Thank you Novak Djokovic for making my 2012 birthday very memorable!
I AM SURVIVORDEAN 