MFEO

from @hopmancup

From The Australian:

THEIR athleticism aside, travellers who caught a glimpse of two Europeans travelling on a flight from Perth to Melbourne in early 2011 might have assumed they were fun-loving backpackers. 
 
Separated by two rows in economy class, the brunette waited until her friend had fallen asleep before sneaking up to him and clapping loudly. Hysterics followed at the statuesque Serb's over-the-top reaction.

Later, the young woman snoozed for a while using her friend's shoulder as a support. It was an intimacy of close friends rather than that of a couple.

With passengers on the packed plane seemingly oblivious to their identities, the pair were left to themselves. A year later and it almost certainly would have been different.

Just three weeks after that trip, the young man -- Novak Djokovic -- claimed the first of three grand slams for the year in establishing himself as the dominant tennis player in the world. Ana Ivanovic, his mate, arguably was even more famous at the time.

...

It is that friendship that Ivanovic touched on yesterday when the pair joined forces for Serbia's opening Hopman Cup victory over Italy in Perth.

As toddlers, the pair threw sand in each others' faces. Later they swatted backhands. Before play yesterday, they embraced on the outdoor practice court before going about their business in impressive fashion.

"We met each other when we were four years old. We didn't even play tennis at the time," Ivanovic said.

"My father and his uncle knew each other from school days, so we were playing in the sand and it is just really, really funny to see him do so well now. It is really nice to catch up and obviously he is my favourite doubles partner.

"(He was) always funny, always making jokes. You know boys. He was always running around the whole time.

"Then we played some tournaments, some under-10s, under-12s back in Serbia, then we were travelling together, so it is nice to catch up and we also have some real memories."

Djokovic, who only arrived in Perth late on Sunday night after adding to his riches with a victory in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, certainly clowned around during a dead mixed doubles against Andreas Seppi and Francesca Schiavone.

...

While it carries less prestige than the Davis or Fed cups, this pair is desperate to claim the title for Serbia given their friendship and seemed certain to do so two years ago until Ivanovic was forced to withdraw from the final -- the day before they shared the flight to Melbourne -- with a stomach injury.

"It is a big goal for me and Novak as well. We have come close a few times and the last time here it was very, very disappointing for me," she said. "I really hope I can play better this year and help Novak and hopefully together we can get the trophy."

Yeah, right. Friends... I do love watching the two of them play together. It's the main reason why I woke up really early today to catch their Hopman Cup tie against Italy. (I'm on my holiday break so 10 AM is quite early for me.) Ana blitzed Francesca Schiavone during their singles match, 6-0 6-4, while Novak had to fight off jet lag (he only arrived in Australia less than 24 hours ago from Abu Dhabi) to beat Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-4.  Team Serbia a.k.a. Team Barbie and Ken lost to the Italians in the mixed dubs, 6-7 4-6. Despite the loss, Ana and Novak were, as always, fun to watch together. Ana always seems so relaxed and smiley around him while Novak does his best to always make her laugh and feel comfortable. Sigh.