Novak Djokovic backs GB bid of Australian Open opponent Aljaz Bedene

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jan/18/novak-djokovic-australian-open-aljaz-bedene

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Novak Djokovic was a teenager making inroads into the upper reaches of the rankings when the Lawn Tennis Association tried to persuade his family to leave the lingering turmoil in what was still Serbia and Montenegro and bring their talented son into the welcoming, desperate arms of the ailing British scene.

Montenegro voted for independence in 2006, the Djokovic family resolved to remain in Serbia rather than take up British citizenship and the grand plan of the LTA’s chief executive at the time, Roger Draper, which had been ongoing secretly for some time, came to nothing. Yet how different the course of both the game in Britain and the career of this proudest of Serbians might have been had that blatant piece of poaching succeeded.

The intriguing currents that waft through international sport do not settle for long, however. Djokovic, now well placed for a lengthy reign as the world’s best player, will look across the net here in his opening match of the 2015 Australian Open – the scene of his brief and losing grand slam debut 10 years ago – and see a player who, rather than turning away the blandishments of a foreign suitor, is desperate to represent Great Britain in the Davis Cup.

Slovenia, like Serbia at the time, was still part of Yugoslavia when Aljaz Bedene was born in Ljubljana in 1989 – so he and Djokovic, born two years earlier in Belgrade, briefly were compatriots.

However, while the ambitious Bedene has decided his tennis interests, at least, will be best served as the owner of a British passport (yet to be granted), the Welwyn Garden City resident who does not much like the local food is unlikely to play Davis Cup for the country he wants to adopt unless the complicated rules of the International Tennis Federation are changed.

“I am emailing with [my] solicitor,” Bedene confided on Sunday. “I think he is working with the LTA. I have given all the documents to the Home Office and they have come back with some stuff. I don’t know exactly [what is happening] because I have been trying to focus more on my tennis.”

However, an ITF spokesperson told the Guardian that Bedene has “no chance” of playing Davis Cup for Great Britain because he had once been picked for Slovenia, even if in a dead rubber. “They would have to change the rules,” he said, “and there are no plans to do so.”

If Djokovic and Bedene are now separated by loyalties, there is also a considerable chasm in class. Bedene, ranked 116 places adrift of the world No1, has qualified for six majors and gone out in the first round each time, although he beat three top-30 players before performing well enough when losing to Stan Wawrinka in two sets in the Chennai final last week.

Djokovic, who was unaware of Bedene’s situation until asked for his opinion , was sympathetic and, surprisingly, open to the idea that players should be able to switch countries more easily.

“If he thinks it’s the proper way for him to continue his tennis career, then I support him,” Djokovic said. “Obviously at that stage of my life things weren’t easy, [and I was] trying to find proper conditions and support for my career. [But] Serbia was going through a lot of economic troubles; they had better things to do than support financially a 15-year-old tennis player. Tennis was not a big sport with a long tradition in our country. So I know how it feels.

“But he’s already an established professional player; I don’t know what’s the motive behind it. In my case, in the end, there was no doubt that I want to stay playing for my country. There were just a few years of struggle. But, more or less, I’ve had a clear vision of what I want to do, under which flag I want to play.”

He added: “If Bedene, whoever, want to change [nationality] for personal reasons, financial reasons, I think the governing bodies of tennis should give these players an opportunity to play for another country.”

As for his tennis, Djokovic played down suggestions that he might be suffering still from a fever that cut him down in Abu Dhabi, where he pulled out of the final against Andy Murray, below. But, after cancelling a press conference on Saturday and arriving later than scheduled after a tough practice session, he admitted he was recovering from a flu or stomach bug. “I carried that already from the Middle East a little bit, but now it’s good. It’s passed.”

If it has not, Bedene may discover that drawing the best player in the world in the first round of a major is not altogether such a wicked twist of fate. “It could be better,” Bedene said, “because I feel like I can do some damage in the main draw. I’m playing well. But it’s Djokovic and it will be exciting. I’m looking forward to it and will try to show everything I can.”

He said he does not know Djokovic but admires him greatly. “Until a few years ago I didn’t watch any videos but lately I have and I have seen Djokovic quite a lot. I think he is the best player in the world when he plays his best, no offence to Roger [Federer]. I love how he moves on the court, his shots. He has improved his serve and his all-round play, which I am trying to do as well.”

Earlier, Juan Martín del Potro withdrew from the tournament when his long-term wrist injury flared again. Returning to the game after two extended absences in recent years, the Argentinian was already facing a hard task to reach the second round, with the clever if erratic Pole Jerzy Janowicz his first opponent. Janowicz now plays the Japanese lucky loser, Hiroki Moriya.

Tuesday will be a testing day for the other bona fide British men in the draw. The qualifier Kyle Edmund will do well to beat the experienced American Steve Johnson, while James Ward is up against it too, having drawn the 31st seed Fernando Verdasco.