TORONTO — Novak Djokovic isn't joking any more.
He used to do impressions of other players. He's been known to show up in his skivvies, models on both arms, at a post-runway party. He seems to be a fun guy, but that silliness appears muted this week.
The 21-year-old Serb is involved in serious business at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament this week. He's the defending champion. And rightly so. The way things are going, Djokovic has every chance to do it again come Sunday.
First, he's playing on a hard court. It's his favourite surface. His greatest triumphs have come on hard court. There doesn't seem to be a shred of doubt in his path. The only person standing in his way is Rafael Nadal, who advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating stubborn Igor Andreev 6-2, 7-6 last night after going to a tiebreaker in the second set.
Rafael Nadal returns a shot to Igor Andreev. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Videos
Play at the Rogers Cup was delayed for nearly six hours due to a thunderstorm on Wednesday. Fans who stuck around found a variety of ways to occupy their time.
Related Articles
Photogallery
Yesterday, Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Robin Soderling (No. 49 in the world), a Swedish power hitter who likes to battle from the baseline. Djokovic defeated him in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, just cruising, doing enough just to win and conserve his strength.
Even though Andreev tested Nadal sorely in the second set, Nadal was pleased with himself. "It was a very good match," Nadal said. "It was 100 per cent better than yesterday. For the win, I have to play well. It's important for me to get to the quarter-finals."
Top seeds fell like dominoes as the day wore on, making Djokovic's job easier. Nikolay Davydenko, No. 4 in the world, lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to 31-year-old Nicolas Kiefer, No. 37. The only top player on the other side of the bracket is No. 8 James Blake, who eked out a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Dmitry Tursonov.
Djokovic knows all eyes are on him, especially with No. 1 Roger Federer ousted in the second round. He's No. 3. "There are a lot of players in the world who are improving day after day, practising a lot," Djokovic said. "And me, having the role of favourite in most matches I play, obviously, I'm put in a lot of pressure. I have a lot of responsibilities and expectations. So it's not easy."
Some of those young players to whom Djokovic is referring made their presence felt yesterday. Marin Cilic, a 19-year-old Croat and the youngest player in the world's top 50, dusted off sixth seed Andy Roddick 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 without showing a shred of trepidation at meeting the American's formidable serve.
And 23-year-old Gilles Simon of France, after having defeated Federer on Wednesday, continued to the quarter-finals by taking out Jose Acasuso of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 yesterday.
Simon admitted he was tired yesterday. After defeating Federer, he didn't sleep much.
"Every time I close my eyes, I have so many things about the match [to think about]," he said. "It really was not a good night for me."
But the tournament itself, that's another story for Simon. He said it was "just unbelievable" to defeat Federer. "I really wanted to win [yesterday], because if you defeat Roger Federer and then you lose the match right after, it's not the same," he said. "If I'm still in the tournament, I'm still dreaming."
After defeating Federer, he said, "You just think you can defeat everybody."
Andy Murray also moved on to the quarter-finals and a hookup with Djokovic tomorrow. Murray said he thinks the level of Federer's competition has improved in the past year and a half or two.
"I still think he's playing great tennis," Murray said.
He said the other players are surprised at Federer's loss. "I think that it's just because he's been on such an incredible run for so long that … he loses one, two matches and everyone starts saying that he's sort of lost his edge a little bit."
Murray, ranked No. 9, defeated his friend Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. After a strong first set, he lost his way for four or five games against a guy who is supremely confident and is one spot behind him in the world rankings. Murray came roaring back with some big serves and got himself out of a hole to win.
Roddick, a former world No. 1 and a Rogers Cup champion, attributed his loss to a lack of matches leading up to the Rogers Cup after recovering from an injury.
