For a world No 4, Novak Djokovic does not strike the sort of fear in the opponent's mind as much as those preceding him on the rankings ladder.
Except for a surprise Australian Open victory in 2008, the Serbian's fitness has not been top notch and his career has been devoid of any major achievements on the big stage.
Even the world No 1 Roger Federer has pointed out that he has retired from matches in three of the four grand slam events during his career. But Djokovic is determined to buck the trend and his titles in Dubai earlier this year and his home event, the Serbian Open, have been a step in that direction.
He now hopes the addition of Todd Martin to his coaching team will be the catalyst he needs to win another grand slam title.
Whether it was the effect of the American's addition as a mentor last week or not but the Serb announced he meant business when he cruised into the second round with a crushing 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory over former top 10-player Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.
The fourth seed Djokovic has been trying to improve all aspects of his play from his attacking skills to his all-round game and believes twice grand slam runner-up Martin is the man to help.
"I was thinking about working with somebody that can help me out with my serve and my volley game," Djokovic said.
"You know, somebody with a lot of different variety and somebody that has been on top of the men's tennis and somebody that has a positive attitude and great experience.
"I think Todd is a perfect guy for that. He always looks for positives, and this is exactly what I need."
Djokovic will also be looking to add some positives to his image with the local crowd by hiring the American after the unsavoury remarks he traded with current world No 5 and home favourite Andy Roddick in 2007.
Both traded sarcastic comments after Djokovic was accused of faking injuries to get two time-outs before beating Tommy Robredo in a long drawn out match and then winning over Roddick in the quarter-finals.
After his win on Tuesday, Djokovic said Martin will work alongside his existing coach, Marian Vajda, and that the new arrangement was working well so far.
"We have had a lot of hours on the court daily and of course fitness with my coach, really trying hard to work on some things to improve the game and get ready for the most important tournament in this period of the year," said the Serb.
"Todd's a person that can help me a lot in any way, using his experience. He brought freshness to our team, which is always welcome.
"I just really look forward to it. So far the things have been functioning quite well for all of us."
Djokovic is also planning his assault for next year's campaign at Melbourne Park by taking a cue from Federer's schedule of playing at the invitational Kooyong Classic to fine tune his preparations before the opening grand slam of the year.
Apart from missing the 2008 tournament with glandular fever, Federer has been a fixture at the leafy Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club since 2004, and has used it as a springboard to three Australian Open titles.
The defending champion, however, has still not confirmed his participation and he has been making noises about cutting back on his workload after the US Open.
"My latest conversation was about a week ago, and I'm given to understand that the likelihood of [Federer] coming is better than 50-50," the tournament director Colin Stubs said. "Obviously it would be the icing on the cake."
The tournament guarantees all players in an eight-man field three matches on the same outdoor hard surfaces used at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open.
* Reuters
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
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Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
SPECS
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
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Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
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Emiratisation at work
Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago
It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.
Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers
The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension
President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.
During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development
More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics
The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens
UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere
The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens
