Djokovic seeks to repeat 2011 success

Johannesburg: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic has said that he is relaxed about the possibility of Rafael Nadal opening up a huge lead at the top of the world rankings and that he believes he can once again repeat the incredible form he displayed in 2011.

According to Sport24, Nadal this week replaced the Serb as world number one after collecting 10 titles this year and has the opportunity to widen the gulf, as he has no points to defend for the rest of 2013. Djokovic said that Nadal deserves to be number one as the results are there for him and he has definitely been the most successful player in this year so far. The Serbian said that he can affect only what he can affect and that is to play the best tennis that he possibly can in the moment, trying to take one tournament at a time and continuing to do what he has done in the last week of Beijing. The Shanghai Masters top seed admitted that he was defending a stack of points in the rolling 12-month rankings after a strong finish to 2012 but that from February, Nadal would be in the same position, the report said. Nadal returned to action in February this year after missing seven months with a left knee injury and his title haul since includes the French Open and the US Open, where he defeated Djokovic in the final, the report added. The Serb, who won his third consecutive Australian Open this year, falling just short in the other three Grand Slams, said he had enjoyed a `pretty good year` but still harboured hopes of recapturing his form of two years ago, according to the report. He said that repeating the performances of 2011 was very difficult but it was still possible to do.