Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Kim Clijsters is ranked No. 2 in singles and is a former World No. 1 in doubles

Kim Clijsters Is Recognized For Her Deep- powerful- Well-placed -Groundstrokes and Her Backhand Is More Reliable Consistent-


The 13th-seeded Czech had breezed past new world number one Clijsters in straight sets Sunday for her third WTA career title.

But the trip to the Gulf region left her looking tired and jaded and she lost in two tie-break sets 7-6 7-6 to Ayumi Morita, a Japanese qualifier.

Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, who claimed the Pattaya Open title in Thailand Sunday, also fell at the first hurdle.

She lost to Russian Anna Chakevetadze, who eased through 6-1 6-3 to earn a second round meeting with top seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Grand Slam finals-

 Singles: 8 finals (4 titles, 4 runner-ups):

Outcome↓ Year↓ Championship↓ Surface↓ Opponent in the final↓ Score in the final↓
Runner-up 2001 French Open Clay United States Jennifer Capriati 1–6, 6–4, 12–10
Runner-up 2003 French Open (2) Clay Belgium Justine Henin 6–0, 6–4
Runner-up 2003 US Open Hard Belgium Justine Henin 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 2004 Australian Open Hard Belgium Justine Henin 6–3, 4–6, 6–3
Winner 2005 US Open Hard France Mary Pierce 6–3, 6–1
Winner 2009 US Open (2) Hard Denmark Caroline Wozniacki 7–5, 6–3
Winner 2010 US Open (3) Hard Russia Vera Zvonareva 6–2, 6–1
Winner 2011 Australian Open Hard People's Republic of China Li Na 3–6, 6–3, 6–3


Kim Clijsters of Belgium climbed to the top of the WTA women's tennis rankings released on Monday, dislodging Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

The Australian Open winner was assured of top spot after a quarterfinal win Friday at the Paris Indoor event.
She reached the final of the Paris event, only to lose to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.
Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam winner, has 8 835 points, with Wozniacki on 8 655 and Vera Zvonareva of Russia on 7 255.

Clijsters topped the rankings in 2003 and again in 2006. She quit the game in 2007 to have a child and then returned to win 2009 and 2010 US Opens and the Australian title on January 29.

She has outnumbered Kim Clijsters as she regained World No. 1 ranking in the WTA ranking list on Monday. The top seed of Denmark is now also celebrating the 13th title of her career after winning the DubaiRussia. Open Sunday as she outplayed Svetlana Kuznetsova.




Kim Clijsters
US Open Tennis 2010 1st Round 192.jpg
Nick name Aussie Kim
Country  Belgium
Residence Bree, Belgium
Date of birth 8 June 1983 (1983-06-08) (age 27)
Place of birth Bilzen, Belgium
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 12 in)
Turned pro 17 August 1997
Retired 6 May 2007
Returned 11 August 2009
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money US$23,629,561 (3rd in overall rankings)
Singles
Career record 493–115 (81.0%)
Career titles 41 WTA (13th in overall rankings)
3 ITF
Highest ranking No. 1 (11 August 2003)
Current ranking No. 2 (21 February 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (2011)
French Open F (2001, 2003)
Wimbledon SF (2003, 2006)
US Open W (2005, 2009, 2010)
Other tournaments
Championships W (2002, 2003, 2010)
Doubles
Career record 131–54
Career titles 11 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking No. 1 (4 August 2003)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open QF (2003)
French Open W (2003)
Wimbledon W (2003)
US Open QF (2002)
Last updated on: February 4, 2011.

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (Dutch pronunciation: [kɪm ˈklɛistərs] - born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 21 February 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 2 in singles and is a former World No. 1 in doubles. She shares the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a mother with Margaret Court.

Clijsters is the reigning singles champion at the US Open and the Australian Open. She has also won 41 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She has won four Grand Slam singles titles: three at the US Open, in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and one at the Australian Open in 2011. She has also been runner-up in four Grand Slam singles tournaments, and won the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002, 2003 and 2010. In doubles, she won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Clijsters announced her retirement with immediate effect on 6 May 2007, but almost two years later, on 26 March 2009, she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour for the 2009 summer hard court season. In only her third tournament back, she won her second US Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

Tennis career-

Clijsters started her season at the Adidas International, where she won her first tournament of the year defeating Lindsey Davenport in straight sets in the final. Clijsters reached the final after defeating Patty Schnyder, Chanda Rubin and Justine Henin. At the Australian Open, Clijsters lost in the semi-final to Serena Williams 4–6, 6–3, 7–5 after holding 5 match points. On the way to the semis Clijsters lost just fifteen games beating Samantha Reeves and completing a double bagel (wherein the opposing player fails to win a single game) against Petra Mandula. Then continuing to win in straight sets against Tatiana Poutchek, Amanda Coetzer and Anastasia Myskina. and at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, where she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the final.


Clijsters in 2003
Clijsters reached the final of the WTA German Open after defeating Jennifer Capriati 6–4 in the final set. In the final she played Justine Henin and squandered three match points as Clijsters lost the final set 7–5. To compound the day Clijsters also lost the doubles final 6–4 in the final set.

Clijsters’ third title of the year came at the Telecom Italia Masters in Rome, where she defeated Amélie Mauresmo in the final, white washing the Frenchwoman in the final set. After Clijsters had defeated Myskina and doubles partner Ai Sugiyama to make the final.

At the French Open Clijsters’ reached the final for the second year running after defeating Nadia Petrova. In the final Clijsters lost 6–0, 6–4 to Henin at the US open, 7–5, 6–1. She also lost in the semi-final at Wimbledon to Venus Williams after leading by a set and a break. On 11 August 2003, Clijsters attained the World No. 1 ranking, holding the spot for 12 non-consecutive weeks during the remainder of the year, and was the first player to be top ranked by the WTA without first winning a Grand Slam singles title.

2006-


Clijsters in 2006
Clijsters started the year by winning an exhibition tournament, the Watson Water Challenge, in Hong Kong. On her way to the title she defeated Jie Zheng, Elena Dementieva, and top ranked Lindsay Davenport. Clijsters then withdrew from her semi-final match at the WTA tournament in Sydney, citing a left hip muscle strain.

At the Australian Open, Clijsters defeated former champion Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 before retiring from her semi-final match with Amélie Mauresmo. Despite the loss, the ranking points she accumulated were enough to regain the World No. 1 ranking, a position she last held on 9 November 2003. She was the first tennis player, male or female, to rise from outside the Top 100 (World No. 134) to World No. 1 in less than a year. Clijsters' loss to Mauresmo in the Australian Open semi-final was due to an ankle injury. Although she had been expected to miss at least eight weeks to recover, Clijsters returned two weeks later at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp. She lost the final of that tournament to Mauresmo in three sets.

Clijsters won her first title of the year at a clay court event in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. At the French Open in May, Clijsters reached the semi-final without losing a set, defeating Hingis in the quarter-finals 7–6, 6–1. However, she lost to Justine Henin in the semi-final 6–3, 6–2 on her 23rd birthday. She was seeded second going into Wimbledon but was again eliminated in the semi-final by Henin, also in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6(4).


Clijsters at 2006 Wimbledon
Clijsters collected her second title of the year as the top seed in Stanford, defeating Patty Schnyder in the final. Clijsters then reached the final in San Diego, falling to second-seeded Maria Sharapova in straight sets. This was her first loss to Sharapova in five career meetings.

On 16 August, after receiving a first round bye at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Clijsters faced Canadian Stéphanie Dubois in the second round. Having won the first set 6–1 and trailing 2–3 in the second set, Clijsters slipped and fell on her left wrist and was forced to retire from the match. On 18 August 2006, Clijsters announced on her official website that the condition of her wrist was worse than she had expected and that she would be unable to defend her title at the US Open. She also missed the Fed Cup final against Italy, which Italy won 3–2.

Playing in Paris at the Gaz de France Stars tournament, her first event in more than two months, Clijsters successfully defended her title by beating qualifier Kaia Kanepi in the final. At the year-ending WTA Tour Championships, Clijsters lost a semi-final to Mauresmo 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 after defeating Dementieva and Kuznetsova and losing to Sharapova in the round robin phase of the tournament.

 2007: Retirement-

2007 was to be Clijsters’ final year on tour as she had planned in 2005 to retire at the end of the 2007 season. Clijsters started the year by winning an exhibition tournament, the Watson Water Challenge, in Hong Kong. On her way to the title, she defeated Jie Zheng, Patty Schnyder, and top ranked Maria Sharapova. Clijsters then won the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, defeating Nicole Pratt, Shahar Peer, Li Na and Jelena Janković to claim the title after being match point down in the final.


Clijsters at the 2007 J&S Cup
At the Australian Open Clijsters was the fourth seed. The Belgian started by giving a double bagal to Vasilisa Bardina before going on to defeat Akiko Morigami, Alona Bondarenkoand Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets. Clijsters then defeated sixth seed Martina Hingis in three sets before losing to Sharapova in the semi-finals.

Clijsters next played in Belgium for the final time at the Proximus Diamond Games after pulling out of the Open Gaz de France with a hip injury. When Clijsters said that she was fit she hinted that she may miss the French Open. Clijsters reached the final of the Diamond Games losing to Amélie Mauresmo. Defeating Olga Poutchkova, Ana Ivanović and Tatiana Golovin while on the way to the final without dropping a set.

After this event Clijsters confirmed that she would miss the French Open and US Open, making Wimbledon her last Grand Slam event. The Belgian also added that her last two tournaments would be in Luxembourg and at the WTA Tour Championships in Stuttgart.

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Clijsters lost in the fourth round to Li Na in three sets. and Sam Stosur. A month later in her first clay tournament of the year, at Warsaw Clijsters failed to defend her title when she lost to Julia Vakulenko 7–6(3), 6–3. After beating Akiko Morigami


 

On 6 May 2007, citing injuries, Clijsters announced on her official website that she was cutting short her season and bringing forward her plans to retire from professional tennis. Clijsters decided to retire immediately from the sport.

Following Cincinnati Clijsters played at the Rogers Cup in Toronto on another wildcard. She defeated British qualifier Elena Baltacha in the first round. In the second round, she defeated World No. 9 Victoria Azarenka 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 but lost to World No. 4 Jelena Janković in the third round 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, after serving for the match at 5–3.


Clijsters at the 2009 US Open
She then received a wildcard to play in the main draw of the US Open. She easily won her first round match over Viktoriya Kutuzova 6–1, 6–1. She won her second round match, defeating World No. 14 Marion Bartoli for the second time in three weeks 5–7, 6–1, 6–2. She then defeated compatriot Kirsten Flipkens 6–0, 6–2 in the third round. She went on to upset World No. 3 Venus Williams in the fourth round 6–0, 0–6, 6–4. This was only Clijsters' 11th competitive match since coming out of retirement. Clijsters beat 18th seed Li Na in straight sets 6–2, 6–4 to reach the semi-finals where she faced defending champion and World No. 2 Serena Williams, winning 6–4, 7–5 after Williams was given a point penalty on match point after a dispute with an official over a foot fault call.

Clijsters became the first unseeded finalist at the US Open since Venus Williams in 1997, and the first wildcard to ever reach the US Open final. With her victory over Serena, Clijsters became the only player to have beaten both Williams sisters in the same tournament twice. In the final she defeated ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki 7–5, 6–3 to win her second US Open title. Her US Open victory placed her in the top 20 in the world rankings. She also became the first Wild Card champion in US Open history and the first mother to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. Clijsters is popularly known as one of the "comeback queens" of tennis. Clijsters then received a wildcard to play at the 2009 BGL Luxembourg Open in Luxembourg, as the second seed. She eased through her opening match 6–2, 6–2 against Meghann Shaughnessy but fell to Patty Schnyder in a close second round encounter 4–6, 6–3, 6–7.

Playing an exhibition match in Antwerp, Belgium on December 10, Clijsters defeated rival Venus Williams 6–1, 7–5. She finished the year ranked 18th.

In March 2010, Clijsters won her first Laureus World Sports Award, for her remarkable 2009 US Open comeback. She also won the WTA Comeback Player of the Year and the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for the seventh time.

 2010-

Clijsters started her 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia as the top seed. She defeated Tathiana Garbin and Alicia Molik in the first two rounds without dropping a set. She then defeated Lucie Šafářová in three sets to advance to the semifinals where she defeated Andrea Petkovic to set up a final with her rival and compatriot Justine Henin. Clijsters led 6–3, 4–1 before Henin to win eight consecutive games to take the second set and lead 3–0 in the final set. Clijsters trailed 5–3 saved two match points before breaking back and forcing a final set tie break defeating her rival 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(6).


Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki at an official function
Clijsters' next tournament was the 2010 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season where she was seeded 15h. Clijsters advanced to the third round with straight sets wins over Valérie Tétreault and Tamarine Tanasugarn. In the third round Clijsters lost to the World No. 20 Nadia Petrova winning just one game in the worst defeat of her career.

Clijsters did not play competitively again until March at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. She was seeded 14th but she fell to the 23rd seed Alisa Kleybanova in the third round losing a final set tie break. and Shahar Pe'er. Clijsters then defeated the defending champion Victoria Azarenka for the loss of just four games. Before defeating the World No. 10 Samantha Stosur in the quarter-finals and Justine Henin in a final set tie break to reach the final. Clijsters went on to beat Venus Williams in straight sets in the final, ending the American’s fifteen match unbeaten streak. As a result of winning the title for the second time, Clijsters' ranking rose to World No. 10. Clijsters found form at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open as she went on to win the title. As the 14th seed, she only dropped three games while defeating Petra Kvitová

2011-

Clijsters' first competitive outing of the year was the Medibank International Sydney in Australia. In the first round, Clijsters defeated Alexandra Dulgheru in two sets, 6–1, 6–2. She then defeated Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, Victoria Azarenka and Alisa Kleybanova to advanced to the final where she was defeated by World No. 11 Li Na from China, 7–6(3), 6–3, despite leading 5–0 in the first set.


Clijsters in Paris, 2011
Clijsters started her strong campaign at the 2011 Australian Open at Melbourne Park as the tournament's favorite with an emphatic 6–0, 6–0 victory over former World No. 1 Dinara Safina in the first round. This was the first time in tennis' open era that a former World No. 1 player received a double bagel loss in a grand slam tournament. Clijsters then defeated Carla Suárez Navarro 6–1, 6–3 and Alizé Cornet 7–6(3), 6–3, before winning a fourth-round match against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova 7–6(3), 6–2. In the quarterfinals, Clijsters continued her progress without dropping a set by beating the twelfth seed Agnieszka Radwańska 6–3, 7–6(4). She comfortably defeated World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–3, guaranteeing her accession to World No. 2, her highest ranking since her return to the tour. Clijsters won the 2011 Australian Open singles by beating Li Na 3–6, 6–3, 6–3; It was her first major win outside the US and her fourth overall. Clearly emotional, Clijsters declared that she finally had earned the title "Aussie Kim".

Clijsters next traveled to play at the indoor tournament in Paris. After defeating Jelena Dokić in the quarterfinals, Clijsters returned to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time in almost five years, overtaking Caroline Wozniacki. Clijsters eventually progressed to the final of the competition, but was beaten by third seed Petra Kvitová in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3.

Tennis betting sources saw that in 2008, Henin initially retired from the sport, becoming disappointed by life on the women’s tour, but in 2010 she came back to action.

When she slipped during a fourth-round clash at Wimbledon against compatriot Kim Clijsters, the right elbow of the world’s former number one suffered a partial ligament fracture, and many fans that followed her tennis scores have been shocked when they heard about this.

In October, she came back, looking to start the 2011 campaign in top form, only to feel a return of pain to her elbow when the Australian Open was taking place.

“I’ve had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career but this time, at 29, I just can’t go on,” she said.

KIM CLIJSTERS is wearing a green retro outfit to honour the maternal tennis deeds of Australian great Evonne Goolagong Cawley, and with her third grand slam title since returning 17 months ago from the birth of her daughter, the Belgian has become the most successful mother in the game with her success over Li Na in the Australian Open final last night.

Clijsters does not intend to play on past next year's London Olympics, and so is determined to make the most of what time is left. Last night against Chinese trailblazer Li, the third seed won 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a little more than two hours to claim her fourth major championship from eight finals, and the first from her two - seven years apart - at Melbourne Park.

With the losses of Justine Henin and then Maria Sharapova, the tournament was guaranteed a new champion, and to Clijsters goes the cheque for a record $2.2 million and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
''I finally feel like you guys can call me 'Aussie Kim' because I won the title,'' the popular winner said in her victory speech. ''To the fans, thank you so much, not just here in Melbourne. I've been coming to Australia for many years, and you guys have been amazing.

''Even when things weren't going so well, you guys have been supportive … it helped me keep fighting and get the title today.''

 



From Wikipedia-

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Novak Djokovic Is Ranked World No.1 and He Is A Double Winner Of The Award The Best Sportsperson

Australian Open Winner Novak Djokovic's Playing Style and His Great Achievement-

Serbia flag   Singles Ranking:
1
Doubles Ranking:165
Country:Serbia
Birth Date:22 May 1987
Birth Place:Belgrade, Serbia
Residence:Monte Carlo, Monaco
Height:1.88 metres ( 6 ft. 2 in. )
Weight:80 kilos ( 176 lbs. )
Plays:Right Handed


He has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008, 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open. In the final, Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets, coming from a break down in the final set to win 7–5. At 5 hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history, as well as the longest match in Australian Open history, surpassing the 5 hour and 14 minute 2009 semifinal between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.



Seeded Players:

  Men-
SeedPlayer Name
OpponentRound
1    Rafael Nadallost to    David Ferrer [7] Q-F
2    Roger Federerlost to    Novak Djokovic [3] S-F
3    Novak Djokovic def    Andy Murray [5] FINAL
4    Robin Soderlinglost to    Alexandr DolgopolovRND 4
5    Andy Murraylost to    Novak Djokovic [3] FINAL
6    Tomas Berdychlost to    Novak Djokovic [3] Q-F
7    David Ferrerlost to    Andy Murray [5] S-F
8    Andy Roddicklost to    Stanislas Wawrinka [19] RND 4
9    Fernando Verdascolost to    Tomas Berdych [6] RND 4
10    Mikhail Youzhnylost to    Milos RaonicRND 3 

















Novak Djokovic

Novak Đoković
Novak Djokovic Hopman Cup 2011.jpg
Djokovic at the 2011 Hopman Cup
Nick name Nole
Country  Serbia and Montenegro
(2003–2006)
 Serbia (2006–present)
Residence Monte Carlo, Monaco
Date of birth 22 May 1987 (age 23)(1987-05-22)
Place of birth Belgrade, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro 2003
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money $35,255,670
Singles

Career record                                 401–111 (78.32%)
Career titles 29
Highest ranking No. 1 (4 July 2011)
Current ranking No. 1 (30 January 2012)







Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (2008, 2011)
French Open SF (2007, 2008)
Wimbledon SF (2007, 2010)
US Open F (2007, 2010)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals W (2008)
Olympic Games Bronze medal.svg Bronze Medal (2008)
Doubles
Career record 28–38
Career titles 1
Highest ranking No. 114 (November 30, 2009)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 1R (2006, 2007)
French Open 1R (2006)
Wimbledon 2R (2006)
US Open 1R (2006)
Last updated on: September 2, 2010.
Medal record
Men's Tennis
Competitor for  Serbia
Olympic Games
Bronze 2008 Beijing Singles

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković pronounced [ˈnɔvɑk ˈdʑɔːkɔvitɕ]- born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player, who is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

He has won two Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open championships, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events. He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top 3 players in succession.

He is one of only two players to have defeated Roger Federer at the semifinal stage or later multiple times in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Rafael Nadal). Djokovic and Nadal are two of only four current players on the ATP tour to have beaten Federer multiple times at Grand Slams. He was also the runner-up at the 2007 and 2010 US Open tournaments (to Federer and Nadal, respectively), and a bronze medalist representing Serbia at the 2008 Olympic Games. In addition, Djokovic won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and has won five Masters Series tournaments. In 2010, he led Serbia to win the Davis Cup. Djokovic finished the ATP Tour as World No. 3 for four consecutive years between 2007 and 2010 (behind Nadal and Federer). Djokovic's highest ranking to date is World No. 2, achieved in February 2010.

He is a double winner of the award The Best Sportperson of Serbia and award for The Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia.

Early career-

Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarter-finals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.

During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis 7–6 (4), 7–6 (9), 6–7 (3), 4–6, 7–5. In his semifinal match against Nadal, he was forced to retire with back and foot problems.


Djokovic at 2007 US Open
Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated World No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, and World No. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994. Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)."

During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova

Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6 (4). Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as World No. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.

He received a golden badge, award for the best athlete in Serbia and Olympic Committee of Serbia has declared for the best sportsman.

 2008-


Djokovic carrying the Australian Open Cup in the 2008 Final

Djokovic at the Rod Laver Arena during the 2008 Australian Open
Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World No. 3 Jelena Janković. He won all his round-robin matches and the team, seeded first, reached the final. They lost 2–1 to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached the final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, to reach his second Grand Slam final in a row; by reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four grand slams. In the final, Djokovic then defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to earn Serbia's and his first ever Grand Slam singles title in four sets, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6 (2). This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.

Djokovic's next result was at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, lost in the semi-finals to Andy Roddick.


Djokovic at the 2008 Pacific Life Open
At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.

Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semi-finals. At the French Open in Paris, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.

On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing 7–6 (6), 7–5. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin; this ended a streak of five consecutive grand slams where he had reached at least the semifinals.


Winning the Masters Cup
Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray 6–3, 7–6 (3). The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.

His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semi-final, in the bronze medal match 6–3, 7–6 (4).

2010-

Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second. Djokovic participated in an exhibition match against Australia's World No. 291 Bernard Tomic in which he lost.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets, 6–7 (8), 7–6 (5), 6–1, 3–6, 1–6, struggling with illness both before the match and from the fourth set onwards. Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of World No. 2.


Djokovic at the 2010 Rogers Cup
He reached the semis of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny 6–7 (5), 6–7 (6), despite having set points in the second set tiebreak. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in U.A.E., Djokovic reached his second consecutive final at this event after beating all his opponents in 3 sets from the first round onwards. In the final, he defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny winning, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 to win his first title of the year. This was the first time in his career that Djokovic had defended a title.

Djokovic then took part in the first Masters 1000 events of the year in North America. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he lost in the fourth round to the eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić 5–7, 3–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he suffered a shock loss, losing his opening match to Olivier Rochus 2–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6. This was his first opening round defeat since losing to Fabrice Santoro at the 2007 BNP Paribas Masters. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach. He admitted that Martin had attempted to have him change his service motion, a tweaking of technique which caused him to routinely produce a high number of double faults in his matches and significantly reduced the threat on serve.

2011-


Djokovic at the 2011 Australian Open final
In 2011 Djokovic started in the Australian exhibition Hopman Cup, where he did not lose a match.
Djokovic then moved on to the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded 3rd behind Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer. He started off his Australian Open campaign by beating Marcel Granollers in the first round 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 and then moved on to play Ivan Dodig, defeating him in four sets 7–5, 6–7 (8), 6–0, 6–2. His Davis Cup teammate and close friend Viktor Troicki retired in the 3rd round due to injury, with Djokovic leading 6–2.


 

Djokovic uses Head rackets, utilizing the first Head YouTek™ Speed Pro racquet, after using Wilson until the end of 2008. In the Australian Open 2011 uses for the first time the new YouTek™ IG Speed MP 18/20 with Innegra™ fibre technology. Djokovic strings in a custom hybrid consisting of Tecnifibre X-One Biphase String in his mains (a type of synthetic gut), and natural gut in his crosses. At the end of 2009, he switched from adidas to Sergio Tacchini after signing a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company. Djokovic has recently begun to wear custom Red/Blue Adidas 'Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag.

Grand Slam performance timeline-

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 Australian Open.
Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career SR Career W–L Career Win %
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R 1R 4R W QF QF W 2 / 7 25–5 83.33
French Open A A 2R QF SF SF 3R QF
0 / 6 21–6 77.78
Wimbledon A A 3R 4R SF 2R QF SF
0 / 6 20–6 76.92
US Open A A 3R 3R F SF SF F
0 / 6 26–6 81.25
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 5–4 9–4 19–4 18–3 15–4 19–4 7–0 2 / 25 92–23 80.00

 Grand Slam Finals-

 Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups):

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 2007 US Open Hard Switzerland Roger Federer 6–7(4), 6–7(2), 4–6
Winner 2008 Australian Open Hard France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2)
Runner-up 2010 US Open (2) Hard Spain Rafael Nadal 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6
Winner 2011 Australian Open (2) Hard United Kingdom Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3




From Wikipedia-

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Greater Understanding Of The Underlying Dynamics Of War and It's Conflict

The History Of Early Cold World War and It's Conflict Management's-

The Human Security Report 2005 documented a significant decline in the number and severity of armed conflicts since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. However, the evidence examined in the 2008 edition of the Center for International Development and Conflict Management's "Peace and Conflict" study indicated that the overall decline in conflicts had stalled.


Recent rapid increases in the technologies of war, and therefore in its destructiveness (see Mutual assured destruction), have caused widespread public concern, and have in all probability forestalled, and may hopefully altogether prevent the outbreak of a nuclear World War III. At the end of each of the last two World Wars, concerted and popular efforts were made to come to a greater understanding of the underlying dynamics of war and to thereby hopefully reduce or even eliminate it all together. These efforts materialized in the forms of the League of Nations, and its successor, the United Nations. Shortly after World War II, as a token of support for this concept, most nations joined the United Nations. During this same post-war period, with the aim of further deligitimizing war as an acceptable and logical extension of foreign policy, most national governments also renamed their Ministries or Departments of War as their Ministries or Departments of Defense, for example, the former US Department of War was renamed as the US Department of Defense.
Warfare Ramses II at Kadesh.jpgGustavus Adolphus at the Battle at Breitenfeld.jpgM1A1 abrams front.jpg Military history
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War is a behavior pattern of organized violent conflict, typified by extreme aggression, societal disruption, and high mortality. This behavior pattern is found in many primate species, including man, and also found in many ant species. It involves two or more organized groups. Such a conflict is always an attempt at altering either the psychological hierarchy or the material hierarchy of domination or equality between such groups. In all cases, at least one participant (group) in the conflict perceives the need to either psychologically or materially dominate the other participant. Amongst humans, the perceived need for domination often arises from the belief that an essential ideology or resource is somehow either so incompatible or so scarce as to threaten the fundamental existence of the one group experiencing the need to dominate the other group. Leaders will sometimes enter into a war under the pretext that their actions are primarily defensive, however when viewed objectively, their actions may more closely resemble a form of unprovoked, unwarranted, or disproportionate aggression.


In all wars, the group(s) experiencing the need to dominate other group(s) are unable and unwilling to accept or permit the possibility of a relationship of fundamental equality to exist between the groups who have opted for group violence (war). The aspect of domination that is a precipitating factor in all wars, i.e. one group wishing to dominate another, is also often a precipitating factor in individual one-on-one violence outside of the context of war, i.e. one individual wishing to dominate another.


In 2003, Nobel Laureate Richard E. Smalley identified war as the sixth (of ten) biggest problems facing the society of mankind for the next fifty years. In the 1832 book "On War", by Prussian military general and theoretician Carl Von Clausewitz, the author refers to war as the "continuation of political intercourse, carried on with other means." War is an interaction in which two or more opposing forces have a “struggle of wills”. The term is also used as a metaphor for non-military conflict, such as in the example of Class war.


War is a seemingly inescapable and integral aspect of human culture. Its practice is not linked to any single type of political organization or society. Rather, as discussed by John Keegan in his History Of Warfare, war is a universal phenomenon whose form and scope is defined by the society that wages it. The conduct of war extends along a continuum, from the almost universal primitive local tribal warfare that began well before recorded human history, to advanced nuclear warfare between global alliances, with the recently developed ultimate potential for human extinction.








Wars ranked by total deaths-



Rank↓War↓Years↓Deaths↓Deaths per Day↓Deaths per Population↓
1American Civil War1861–1865625,0005991.988% (1860)
2World War II1941–1945405,3994160.307% (1940)
3World War I1917–1918116,5162790.110% (1920)
4Vietnam War1955–197558,151260.03% (1970)
5Korean War1950–195336,516450.02% (1950)
6American Revolutionary War1775–178325,000110.899% (1780)
7War of 18121812–181520,000310.345% (1810)
8Mexican–American War1846–184813,283290.057% (1850)
9War on terror2001–present5,49120.00002% (2010)
10Philippine–American War1899–19134,19610.006% (1900)




"Deaths per day" are the total number of US military deaths, divided by the number of days between the dates of the commencement and end of hostilities, or until 25 February 2010 in the case of the Iraq War. "Deaths per population" are the total number of US military deaths, divided by the US population of the year indicated.


Wars ranked by combat deaths



Rank↓War↓Years↓Deaths↓
1World War II1937–1945291,557
2American Civil War1861–1865212,938
3World War I1917–191853,402
4Vietnam War1955–197547,355
5Korean War1950–195333,746
6American Revolutionary War1775–17838,000
7War on terror2001–present4,295
8War of 18121812–18152,260
9Mexican–American War1846–18481,733
10Northwest Indian War1785–17951,221+









Etymology and scope-

From late Old English (c.1050), wyrre, werre, from Old North French werre "war" (Fr. guerre), from Frankish *werra, from Proto-Germanic *werso (Compare with Old Saxon werran, Old high German werran, German verwirren "to confuse, perplex.") Cognates suggest the original sense was "to bring into confusion."

There was no common Germanic word for "war" at the dawn of historical times. Spanish, Portuguese, Italian guerra are from the same source; Romanic peoples turned to Germanic for a word to avoid Latin "bellum" because its form tended to merge with bello- "beautiful."

In an organized military sense, a group of combatants and their support is called an army on land, a navy at sea, and an air force in the air. Wars may be conducted simultaneously in one or more different theaters. Within each theater, there may be one or more consecutive military campaigns. A military campaign includes not only fighting but also intelligence, troop movements, supplies, propaganda, and other components. A period of continuous intense conflict is traditionally called a battle, although this terminology is not always applied to conflicts involving aircraft, missiles or bombs alone, in the absence of ground troops or naval forces. Also many other actions may be undertaken by military forces during a war, this could include weapons research, prison internment, assassination, occupation, and in some cases genocide may occur.

A civil war is a war between factions of citizens of one country (such as in the English Civil War), or else a dispute between two nations that were created out of one formerly-united country. A proxy war is a war that results when two powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly.

Motivations-


World War I,sequences from Romania

Motivations for war may be different for those ordering the war than for those undertaking the war. For a state to prosecute a war it must have the support of its leadership, its military forces, and its people. For example, in the Third Punic War, Rome's leaders may have wished to make war with Carthage for the purpose of eliminating a resurgent rival, while the individual soldiers may have been motivated by a wish to make money. Since many people are involved, a war may acquire a life of its own from the confluence of many different motivations.

The Jewish Talmud describes in the BeReshit Rabbah commentary on the fight between Cain and Abel (Parashot BeReshit XXII:7) that there are three universal reasons for wars: A) Economic, B) Ideological/religious, and C) Power/pride/love (personal).

In Why Nations Go to War, by John G. Stoessinger, the author points out that both sides will claim that morality justifies their fight. He also states that the rationale for beginning a war depends on an overly optimistic assessment of the outcome of hostilities (casualties and costs), and on misperceptions of the enemy's intentions.


As the strategic and tactical aspects of warfare are always changing, theories and doctrines relating to warfare are often reformulated before, during, and after every major war. Carl Von Clausewitz said, 'Every age had its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions, and its own peculiar preconceptions.' The one constant factor is war’s employment of organized violence and the resultant destruction of property and/ or lives that necessarily follows.




From Wikipedia-