Home » Novak Djokovic schedules a match against Rafael Nadal in Canada

At the 2007 Canada Masters in Montreal, Novak Djokovic made his professional debut. The fourth-ranked player in the world at the age of 20 entered Canada as one of the favorites. With easy wins against Nicolas Kiefer and David Nalbandian, Novak got things started and made it to the quarterfinals.

In a grueling match, Djokovic defeated Andy Roddick, the third-ranked player in the world, 7-6, 6-4. He advanced to the semifinals and was matched up against Rafael Nadal as a result. Andy lost to Novak by six points, and he stopped two of his three break attempts.

To advance to the following round, the Serb twice stole the opponent’s serve. Djokovic kept things upbeat by fending off break attempts in the sixth game of the opening set before taking the lead with a backhand winner down the line at 5-5.

In game 12, when serving for the set, Novak commits a double error that keeps the rival in the game. After the setback, Djokovic regrouped and won the tie break 7-4 with a service winner, giving himself a tremendous boost. In the second set, Roddick was ready to battle, and he held off three break attempts at 3-4 to stay in the match.

In game ten, Novak maintained contact on the return and intercepted the opponent’s serve to advance and set up the semifinal matchup with Rafael Nadal.

In 2007, Novak Djokovic advanced to the Canada Masters semifinals.

“It’s always crucial to serve properly when dealing with large servers like Andy, which I did today.

I also returned effectively, particularly in the second set, to put pressure on him. The strongest server in history is most likely Andy. I forced him to play longer rallies and stopped him from taking advantage of free throws. I made a nervous start, but I still found my groundstrokes a little difficult.

From the first game, I was aware that I had to deliver strong serves and take risks from the baseline. I didn’t play my best, but I managed to win a challenging game. We had just met, so I had to figure out how to handle his serves.

In the first game, he served effectively, and I struggled from the baseline. Andy missed up on his opportunities, but I took advantage of mine while I had them. I was unable to complete the set’s serve, but I made up for it in the tie break with a strong showing “Speaking after defeating Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic.