Djokovic Targets Grass Court Glory

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Novak Djokovic will travel from the French Open in Paris, to London for the grass court season at the end of next week with the praise of the great Pete Sampras ringing in his ears.

Djokovic, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, will play his first tennis on grass in 2008 at The Artois Championships, 9-15 June.

In an exclusive video interview, Djokovic said that the prospect of appearing at the 30th Artois Championships is something he is looking forward to:

“I have played at The Queen’s Club for the past couple of years and it’s a great pleasure and excitement to be there and to be part of such a great tournament,” said Djokovic.

“The atmosphere is fantastic, and there is so much tradition in tennis for this tournament. The crowds respect the players a lot and so it’s always fun to be there,” he added. To view the full video interview, click here or click here to see it on YouTube.

Sampras won two Artois titles in 1995 and 1999, doubling up at Wimbledon in both of those years. The American, who won seven Wimbledon crowns in all, believes Djokovic has all the skills necessary to rival anyone in the world.

“Djokovic is the one guy in the world that can actually run with Roger (Federer) and hit with Roger. He can do all that stuff,” said Sampras.

“The way I see the game now I see three players, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic - they’re the 3 best players in the world. Then No.’s 4 to 25 are all pretty much in the same boat. Nadal is a great athlete and a great competitor with a good heart.”

Nadal will also contest The Artois Championships, along with four-time champions Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, and the British No.1 Andy Murray. David Nalbandian, Richard Gasquet and Fernando Gonzalez are also scheduled to appear.

Djokovic is aware of the names such as Sampras, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Jimmy Connors that adorn The Artois Championships and Wimbledon trophies, and would like to add his own name to the Roll of Honour for both tournaments.

“It would mean the world to me if I was successful enough to win two huge tournaments such as these but I don’t want to push myself too much,” said Djokovic.

“I know I am the third player of the world, I have a lot of expectations and I am one of the favourites to win at The Queen’s Club, but I need to go step-by-step. I am one of the best players in the world now and with my recent results I showed my quality and I think I deserve to be there. But, I don’t want to push myself too far or have too high goals and say that I need to be No.1 in the world this year or next year. I don’t need that (pressure), I need to think about what I do, try to get my game to the highest possible level and have a good team around me, and the results will come sooner or later.”