By Scoop Malinowski
Status: Member of Serbia’s Davis Cup team which will meet France in the final this weekend in Belgrade. ATP ranking #48. Has career wins over Roddick, Ferrer, Youzhny, Gonzalez, Murray, Monfils, Berdych.
Ht: 5-11 Wt: 180
DOB: June 22, 1984 In: Belgrade, Serbia
Hobbies/Interests: “Music, books, snowboard.”
Tennis Inspirations: “I’m trying to be an inspiration for myself. Of course, as an idol, always was Andre Agassi since I was a kid.”
First Tennis Memory: “Is on my first tennis practice when I was really bad and I was crying and I wanted to quit after one hour of play. But luckily my mom told me just continue for fun. Now here I am.”
Favorite Movies: “Donnie Brasco, Usual Suspects.”
Favorite TV Show: “I don’t watch TV.”
Musical Tastes: “House music, exclusively house music. Afro Jack.”
Favorite Books: “Genealogy of Morality – F. Nietzsche. On the Other Side of Good and Evil. The Idiot. Writings from the Underground. Counsels and Maxims – Arthur Schopenhauer.”
Favorite Artists: “Salvador Dali and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.”
First Car: “Puegeot 307 (silver).”
Current Car: “Volvo C70 convertible (silver).”
Favorite Meal: “I guess pljeskavica – it’s a Serbian name for hamburger.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “I don’t eat ice cream. I try to lose weight.”
Pre-Match Feeling: “Trying to go on court as sharp as possible. If I start easy, that’s the points when I’m not playing good. If I’m not warm enough or sharp enough, I usually don’t start good in my matches. So trying to be as sharp as possible.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Probably the best feeling of my career was Davis Cup semifinal this year when I beat Stepanek (60 76 64) to make the Davis Cup final. Was a dream come true. And when I beat Gonzales in the third round on the full Wimbledon center court stadium.”
Most Painful Moment: “It was like a period. I played good as a junior when I was 17. I played unbelievable at the beginning of the year, was #1, and from French Open till the end of the year I couldn’t play anything because the wrist injury. And I just saw my colleagues going like better and better in the ranking. And in the end finished second with the same amount of points to the #1 guy. But the difference was he had like more points in the Grade A tournaments. Very painful.”
Favorite Tournament: “Wimbledon, for sure. I enjoy playing on the grass, my favorite surface.”
Closest Tennis Friends: “Are Serbian guys, Novak Djokovic, Nenad Zimonjic. Also Feliciano Lopez, Oliver Marach and Rainer Schuettler. But my best friends are like people who have nothing to do with tennis.”
Funniest Players Encountered: “Michael Llodra and Dimitri Tursunov.”
Toughest Competitors: “For me, the guy that I hate playing is Amer Delic. I lost three times to him, two times in tiebreaks in the third set and the other time the score was 75 67. Really, really tough matches.”
Funny Tennis Memory: “When I was younger, first time I played U.S. Open (2003). When I was younger I was practicing in a swimming pool on carpet. And I was really nervous. And the idea that I had was, If I lose the point or something, I go next to a wall and do a handstand. So all the blood goes in my head. What happened to me, first time I ever qualified at U.S. Open I was playing Philippoussis. I lose a break point. Very easy shot. and like automatically – subconsciously – I do a handstand. And everybody starts to laugh at me. And I was like, What am I doing? And I just let myself go and slam right on the hard court. It was very stupid and funny.”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “A long time ago I played the last round of qualies of the small tournament in Egypt. There was a Spanish guy on the other side of the net. Three hour match. 5-4 for him in the third set and I got a warning – on 30-30. As soon as I lost the point I showed the middle finger to myself, pointing upwards. The chair umpire thought that I was offending Allah. As a result, he gave me the second warning, the point penalty and ended the match.”
Favorite Players To Watch: “I love to watch Federer. I remember practicing with him. I was really enjoying him kicking ass. First four games, I tell you, I won one point. Was unbelievable. Like on PlayStation. And I like to watch Henin. Her game style.”
Best You Ever Felt On Court: “Was against David Ferrer at the 2008 Olympics, when he was #4. I won 76 62. Unfortunately in the second round I had to retire playing Olivier Rochus. Another time I felt the real joy of tennis was first round against Ferrero in Australian Open five years ago. Although I lost it, I had one of those flow moments. When you win seven games in a row without losing a point. Hitting everything full power with closed eyes. This is one of the best feelings I ever had.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “The thing which I admire is how people improve in their profession. And don’t change as a person. This is the thing which I admire and I like the most.”
More Biofiles like this can be viewed at www.mrbiofile.com
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Dan Markowitz · December 1, 2010 at 11:26 am
One of your best biofiles. And unlike Lilia Osterloh, this one was timely. He gave you present and clear answers. Sometimes in biofiles, you can feel that the energy is just not there, mostly because the player is tuned out. Tipsarevic was giving you his best self and answers and what a book list.
Sakhi · December 1, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I think Mr. Markowitz needs to lay off on the endless snarky comments about Osterloh. I think we get his annoyance and are well past it! Can he just move on too please?
And interesting post. I enjoy watching Janko T. play because his game is based so much on working with the geometry of the court. A rare example of an “intellectual” tennis player.
Scoop Malinowski · December 1, 2010 at 2:08 pm
The Osterloh Biofile actually gained over 400 page views so far which is above the average. But that’s the way we do it here at tennis-prose,, always try to keep it unpredictable with nice surprises for our dear readers and supporters. Janko Tipsarevic actually might be the best interview in tennis. His perfomance in the SF vs. Czech was absolutely awesome. Can’t wait to see how pumped up he this weekend. Davis Cup final in Belgrade – who could ask for anything more. I sense a historic epic battle looming.
dan markowitz · December 1, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Sakhi,
I don’t tell you what to write. Don’t tell me not what to write. You are the one who has blown the whole thing up with Osterloh to a point it didn’t need to go. When a writer writes a post I like and enjoy, I mention it. If I think a post is off-base because of timing or stature of player, I mention it. I’m not criticizing Scoop or Osterloh, I’m just communicating my point of view.
Richard Pagliaro · December 2, 2010 at 2:07 am
This is a Classic Biofile – well done!
Love the anecdote about him “subconsciously” doing the handstand on court and have to respect any player who loves Dali. Interesting and kind of cool he mentions Justine as one of his favorite players to watch. I always wondered why more younger players – girls and boys – don’t use Henin more as a role model though part of it might be she has every shot and developing that kind of depth is very demanding and some just aren’t capable.
Three of my favorite Tipsarevic matches are the loss to Fed in Australian Open and his win over Roddick in US Open and his Davis Cup semi clinching win – he just kept going after it and for a player of his height, uses his legs beautifully in getting up to bang that first serve. He’s a fun player to watch and he’s an engaging player as well because he shows you the emotion, lets you know what he’s feeling.
A friend of mine wrote this behind-the-scenes in LA article on hanging (for a bit) with Janko and he explains how he met the woman who would become his wife:
http://www.tennisnow.com/News/Featured-News/Behind-The-Scenes-%28And-The-Wheel%29-In-LA-Part-2–Co.aspx
Scoop Malinowski · December 2, 2010 at 3:13 am
That was excellent, really enjoyed that piece by Tim Smith! Excellent, cracked up a few times.
Dan Markowitz · December 2, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Man, that dude, Tim Smith, writes an energetic article. I think that’s a great guise for a story–one I’ve never heard before (I didn’t even know you can volunteer at a tournament to drive players around)–you get a lot of inside info. But it also shows you that the first thing most of these players do when they get into the car is start up with their cell phone. Kind of sad in that they don’t acknowledge the person in the car with them and engage them.
Andrew Miller · December 3, 2010 at 1:11 am
I like Tipsarevic – not because he makes life a living horror for Roddick at slams – I like his game. I think his results are not worthy of his game: he collects scalps but in their collection he has the classic problem – following it up with another big win to put together a run. He must be pretty emotional after the wins. And the guy is hysterical. The line he had after the US Open win over Roddick was an all time great line.
“Q. What was your conversation at the end?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: He was really nice. He said, Well done, man. You played great. And he said, If you lose early, I’m going to kill you. Yeah, he said. You beat me at Wimbledon, and now if you lose early, I’m going to freakin’ kill you. Yes, that’s what he said.”
tom michael · December 3, 2010 at 2:21 pm
I am following the scores between Tipsarevic and Monfils online. I wish Serbia chose Troicki to play the first match. But most important of all, I wish Serbia chose to play this final on indoor clay. Djokovic is excellent on clay, one of the top five in the world. Serbia is making it difficult for themselves to win their first Davis Cup.
Scoop Malinowski · December 3, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Roddick with some extreme passive aggression on Tipsarevic! Helluva quote from the archives of the quotemeister Andrew Miller.
Scoop Malinowski · December 3, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Troicki is a bit less reliable in the pressure packed situations than Tipsarevic. Troicki is a strong player but he has a history of coming up short in the big moments while Tipsarevic had that huge win in the fifth rubber vs. Stepanek. There’s no way you take a chance on Troicki, Tips was the right choice as was the surface. Djokovic is looking solid here by taking the first set impressively, but if Simon can take this to four or five sets we could see Djokovic falter physically on Sunday vs. I expect Llodra who beat him in Paris. The doubles point will be crucial.