Belgrade - The triumph of two Serbs at the Shanghai Masters
over the weekend, two players on top of global rankings and another
two with the throne in sight at the close of the tennis season drove
Belgrade newspapers deeper into euphoria on Monday.
'Shanghai fairy tale,' 'Serbia's pride,' 'Serbian Shanghai,' and
'Best in the world' are some of the headlines in the newspapers, many
of which allowed tennis to dominate front-pages instead of the usual,
often grim political stories.
Novak Djokovic claimed the Shanghai title to come within a shot of
Roger Federer and the number two ATP ranking, while Zimonjic, who won
the title with Canadian partner Daniel Nestor, ascended to the
doubles' number one position for the first time in his career.
Normally overshadowed by the singles stars, Zimonjic got his fair
shair of limelight with the triumph he added to the win at Wimbledon
and several other titles. 'Zimonjic is the best in the world,' says a
huge headline in the daily Press.
Jelena Jankovic faltered in the Shanghai final, still secured the
number one WTA ranking until 2009.
Ana Ivanovic ended the season ranked fifth by WTA, after being on
top briefly following the retirement of Belgian Justine Henin.
Though Ana appears to have been free-falling since her Australian
Open title, Serbian media have found consolation in her still good
ranking and the informal title of the world's prettiest athlete.
Overall, Serbian tennis players won a total of 17 titles in the
season - Zimonjic six, Djokovic and Jankovic four each and Ivanovic
three - achieving 'a feat for the history,' the daily Blic concluded.
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