After his first round appearance at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami; the Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic was quite upset due to his loss to South African Kevin Anderson. Defending champion Djokovic; who was the third-seeded player was beaten by the 6-foot tall University of Illinois qualifier who is currently world ranking 122 with a score of 7-6, 3-6 and 6-4.
Besides Anderson being able to take control of the match another fact which could have cost Djokovic the game was the warning received for taking too long before serving.
Djokovic who had recently claimed a ATP Masters Series title at Indian Wells and won the first 2008 Grand Slam in Australia first took control of the game but was quickly overran serving at 2-0 in the third set, Djokovic won the next point after the warning and reached deuce, then lost 13 points in a row. This was the major upset of the game as by the time he found his way out, Anderson was up a break at 3-2.
Anderson played for three years at Illinois University and won the 2006 NCAA doubles title. He became professional last year and this victory was the very first one over a top ten tennis player in a major event.
"I kept telling myself, 'I can do this. I've just got to believe in myself,"' said Anderson, "Even still, just knowing what he's done and what a great player he is, to have beaten him is a tremendous experience for me."
On the other hand, in the ladies' game the defending champion Serena Williams and Justine Henin won their opening matches in straight sets. The Williams sister is seeking her fifth Miami title and her early start was a good one indeed as she stunned Edina Gallovits 6-1, 6-2 in a very comfortable match. Serena looked very confident and relaxed; much more like at home especially because she lives only 90 minutes away in Palm Beach Gardens.
"I love playing here, I love having all my friends come and see me play," Williams said. "It's like playing at home. So I think any time you play at home, like the Patriots playing at home, you always have the extra oomph."
World number one Justin Henin was very focused and did not show any signs of pain or trouble in her right knee. An injury which had come around since the beginning of the year and for which she had even considered surgery, but she decided to treat it with cortisone and give it some rest. This was one of the reason she was not present at Indians Wells.
"I feel much better physically today than I did a few weeks ago - that's for sure," Henin said. "So we could see it in my serve. ... I can play with my forehand again, and I feel that everything is better now."
