Having exchanged a few shots with a young prospect after an intense training session in searing heat at his own tennis complex in central Belgrade, the 30-year old Serb conceded that the last 18 months have been testing.
Svetlana Kuznetsova reached the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships on Thursday after holding off a strong second set challenge to beat France's Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 7-6.
Second seed Novak Djokovic overpowered seventh-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 6-3 in the opening match of the Masters Cup on Sunday. In the day's second match, fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 after fending off a dramatic comeback by the Frenchman in the third set before a roaring crowd.
Milos Raonic overcame third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and set up an all-Canadian clash with teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Jelena Jankovic's bid for a fourth straight title ended on Thursday when the world number one lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to unseeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the second round of the Zurich Open. The Serb was playing her opening match of the week after receiving a first-round bye but showed little sign of having benefited from her brief rest since winning in Moscow.
Ana Ivanovic will become the first player representing Serbia to be ranked world number one when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday. The 20-year-old Serb dislodged Russia's Maria Sharapova from the top when she defeated compatriot Jelena Jankovic to reach the final of the French Open on Thursday.
World number one Jelena Jankovic survived a scare before reaching the Kremlin Cup quarter-finals with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 win over Vera Dushevina on Thursday. The Serb, who replaced Serena Williams at the top of the WTA rankings on Monday, was in danger of becoming the third high-profile player to bow out of the $2.3 million tournament.
Third-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic beat the defending champion in straighht sets in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
It was the 31-year-old Serb's second comfortable win in the Gustavo Kuerten group and combined with Marin Cilic's 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 defeat of American John Isner later in the day, he sealed his place in the semi-finals at the year-ender for the eighth time.
Jelena Jankovic won her second tour title of the year after thrashing fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-3, 6-2 at the China Open.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his maiden tour title after beating top seed Novak Djokovic 7-6, 6-4 at the Thailand Open.
World number four Ana Ivanovic eased past French teenager Alize Cornet 6-1 7-6 to reach the China Open quarter-finals on Thursday, while China's Zheng Jie delighted home fans by thrashing Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
Top seed Novak Djokovic breezed into the quarter-finals of the $576,000 Thailand Open after a 6-1, 6-3 victory over German qualifier Simon Stadler on Thursday.
American fifth seed Serena Williams withdrew from her Italian Open quarter-final with French qualifier Alize Cornet on Friday because of a back injury, organisers said.
Top seed Jelena Jankovic was bundled out of the Pan Pacific Open in a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 defeat by Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in Friday's quarter-finals. The defeat ended the Serb's hopes of recapturing the world number one ranking from Serena Williams this week following her recent loss to the American in US Open final.
Spaniard David Ferrer produced one of his finest performances to edge world number one and compatriot Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-5 in the Paris Masters semi-final on Saturday and keep alive his hope of retaining his crown.
Ana Ivanovic's abrupt exit left the 20-year-old Serb a passive bystander among five women with a mathematical chance of emerging from the year's final slam as world number one.
The Australian Open champion beat Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match at the US Open.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic had no explanation for his flat performance in a stunning semi-final loss to Japan's Kei Nishikori at the U.S. Open on Saturday.
Sania Mirza dropped 10 places to 60 while Somdev Devvarman rose to 320 in the rankings list released on Monday.
Jelena Jankovic will replace fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic as world number one on August 11, the WTA said on Saturday. With no tournaments taking place next week ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Jankovic will end Ivanovic's nine-week reign when the WTA governing body's computer drops the points from the events played in the same week one year ago.
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-1, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Cincinnati Masters and bring the Spaniard's 32-match unbeaten streak to a halt. Serb Djokovic will meet Andy Murray in the final after the 21-year-old Briton overcame giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the day's other semi-final.
Ash Barty beat eighth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) in Beijing to seal her spot in the final of the China Open on Saturday.
The 49-year-old had a hugely successful spell coaching former world number one Novak Djokovic from 2013 to 2016, a period in which the Serb won six of his 12 Grand Slam titles.
Big-serving American Andy Roddick hammered an out-of-sorts Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the semi-finals of the ATP event at Indian Wells. Roddick broke the third-seeded Serb twice in each set to book his place in the last four against world number one Rafael Nadal, who crushed Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro 6-2, 6-4 in a later match.
The ninth seeded Indo-Czech pair lost 6-7(4), 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, 6-8 to the second seeded Canadian-Serb duo, which will play Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe in Saturday's men's doubles final at Wimbledon. The eighth seeds upset top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (11-9) in the first semi-final, which was interrupted by rain, on Thursday.
Kyle Edmund has the most destructive forehand in tennis and it can power him into the world's top 10, according to three-times Australian Open champion Mats Wilander.
Top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic withdrew from the Qatar Open on Thursday after injuring her left ankle beating Olga Govortsova of Belarus the previous day.
Unseeded Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn stunned second seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-2 at Wimbledon.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Australian Open quarter-finals by Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 on Tuesday.
Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka rose to the occasion once again to beat Novak Djokovic with a scintillating display to win his first US Open and third Grand Slam title.
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic and women's number two Angelique Kerber look to book berths in the last four of the US Open as the quarter-finals of the year's last Grand Slam get underway on Tuesday.
World number two Ana Ivanovic raced into the quarter-finals of the French Open with a 6-0, 6-0 whitewashing of unseeded Czech Petra Cetkovska on Sunday.
Captain Michael Ballack grabbed an 82nd minute winner for Germany, who fought back from a goal down to beat Serbia 2-1 on Saturday in their last friendly before the Euro 2008 finals.
The men's third seed entertained the crowd after his first round match with an impersonation of his friend Maria Sharapova.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic was handed a tough opening round at Wimbledon when Friday's draw paired him with Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Holder and top seed Roger Federer beat unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-1 in the Hamburg Masters on Saturday to set up a final with Spain's Rafael Nadal for the second year in a row. Second seed Nadal won a magnificent three-hour semi-final battle with Novak Djokovic, beating the fast-rising Serb 7-5 2-6 6-2.
Top seeds Serbia shrugged off Jelena Jankovic's ongoing injury to clinch a Hopman Cup final showdown with United States.
Novak Djokovic may be using the Hopman Cup as preparation for this month's Australian Open but the world number three is also clearly enjoying himself at the mixed team event.
Top seed Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro set a record for the longest semi-final ever played at Wimbledon on Friday as the Serb favourite eventually triumphed in the fifth set after four hours 43 minutes of scintillating action.
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