Djokovic takes his game to elite level

Djokovic takes his game to elite level

Fresh off his Australian Open triumph over American Andy Murray, Serbian Novak Djokovic said he is ready to challenge the dominance of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in men's tennis.

"I don't want to stop here," the 23-year-old Djokovic said. "I want to keep my body healthy, fit, and ready for some more challenges to come. I feel that I have a good game for all the surfaces. I have proven that in the past."

Djokovic won his second title at Melbourne by defeating Murray in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. It was the first final in a Grand Slam Tournament since the 2008 Australian Open that did not feature either Nadal or Federer. Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in that tournament, winning his first Australian Open title.

Djokovic joins Nadal, Federer and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia as the only multiple-major winners among active male players.

But when asked if he was at the level of Nadal and Federer, Djokovic was more realistic. "Still Rafa and Roger are the two best players in the world, no question about that," the Serbian champion said. "They're the two most dominant players in the game for a while. It's nice to see that there are some new players in the later stages of Grand Slams fighting for a title. That's all I can say."

Murray lost his third final in a Grand Slam tournament. He was beaten twice by Federer in the 2008 U.S. Open and the 2010 Australian Open. Murray was not able to win a single set in all three finals.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday January 31 2011, 2:22 AM EST. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0