I was a huge fan of Novak Djokovic prior to 2008. His playfulness was something new to the men's circuit full of players who are seen as "business determined". Not to say Djokovic was not determined to win, but his youthfulness was something I'm used to considering Roger Federer has been my favorite player for 5/6 years now. So what changed? Why has many fans including myself turned sour on our favorite Serb? My answer- winning the Australian Open.
Everything changed when his captured his first grand slam title. For starters, it doesn't help when your family is highly unlikable. With mother Djokovic yelling "The king is dead. Long live the king." in reference to her son's victory over Roger Federer and the constant army-like chants from his brothers, it's easy to turn that in likability. After his Open win, Novak's crossed that fine line between confidence (Nadal) and arrogance (Roddick) and fans noticed quickly. The capper? His comments towards the US Open crowd (with my friends Mark & Cheryl in tow) about how they are all against him. It's a bad to say to any tennis crowd, especially the US Open crowd. A round of loud boos followed and the effect of his first boo-birds were definitely felt during his semi-finals match against Federer.
I hope he learned his lesson. Either that, or become one of the greatest villains in tennis ever had. We haven't had a bad guy in tennis for awhile.
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