So the time has come. Wimbledon 2012 is starting tomorrow and I am playing my first match at 13 o’ clock. The great thing about Wimbledon that i really appreciate is the tradition that is respected and protected for more than 130 years. We still wear only white clothes during the tournament, and the defending champion always plays at 13h on Monday! For the first time on a tournament, I new way in advance when I play my first match. You know that in tennis, that doesn’t happen that often. We find out the night before, and sometimes it is frustrating because you have to count in that there might be some matches before, so you never really know when you will play. But this was very nice for a change :) And you know what is also interesting? Me and Ferrero will be the first ones to play on the perfect grass! Nobody played there since last year :) Today I had a defending champion’s press conference – this is also part of the tradition. Defending champion always has press conference on Sunday at 12 o’clock. So, there was plenty of journalists, plenty of questions. It was nice to see them all curious about my thoughts before the tournament. They also wanted to hear how I feel after RG. Well, I was honest – I feel great! I feel confident and happy to come back here. No regrets, no thoughts of doubt. I am loving what I do and I am super excited to start off tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a good start :) I do have a surprise for you as well – soon, I will launch my new mobile app so you can easily follow my results, updates and news :)

E pa došlo je vreme – Wimbldon 2012 počinje sutra i igraću svoj prvi meč na centralnom terenu u 13h. Ono po čemu se Wimbledon razlikuje od drugih turnira, a što mi se jako sviđa je tradicija i pravila koja se poštuju preko 130 godina. Igrači i dalje moraju da nose samo belu opremu, a pobednik od prošle godine uvek započinje odbranu svoje titule u 13h u ponedeljak! Po prvi put na nekom turniru sam znao unapred kada ću igrati svoj prvi meč :) Znate, to se ne dešava tako često u tenisu. Raspored mečeva se saznaje tek veče pre meča, a i uvek je nekako komplikovano i nepredvidivo zbog drugih mečeva koji se igraju pre mog. Ovog puta nema sumnje – igram u 13h :) I ono što je još interesantno je da ćemo Ferrero i ja biti prvi koji će igrati na savršenoj travi na kojoj niko nije igrao od prošle godine! Danas sam imao press konferenciju kao proslogodišnji šampion – i to je deo tradicije. Prošlogodišnji šampion uvek ima press konferenciju u nedelju u 12h. Bilo je dosta novinara i dosta pitanja. Uglavnom su želeli da znaju kako se osećam pred turnir i kako se osećam posle RG. Bio sam jako iskren, osećam se super! Pun sam samopouzdanja i srećan sam što sam ponovo ovde. Ne žalim ni za čim, niti sumnjam u sebe. Volim svoj posao i uzbuđen sam što se vraćam u svoju dobro poznatu kancelariju sutra ;) Nadam se uspešnom prvom danu. A za vas spremam iznenađenje – uskoro moja aplikacija za smart telefone gde ćete moći da pratite moje rezultate, statistiku i novosti :)

Play is a window of opportunities for kids. Play is the easiest way for them to establish friendships and learn about the world they live in. I am proud to be a UNICEF Serbia Goodwill Ambassador and to have contributed to the establishment of kindergartens in 10 remote villages and municipalities in Serbia – “Kindergartens without Frontiers” where kids will be dreaming, playing, learning, investigating. Milena, Dunja and Milica live in the Veliki Izvor village since their birth. But they met for the first time when the initiative for opening a kindergarten in the village had begun. They still do not have possibilities for organized getting together and joint activities – but will soon. Fantastic, isn’t it? Look at their happy smiles!

Za decu igra je prozor u svet. Oni tako najlakše sklapaju prijateljstva i uče o svetu u kojem žive. Ponosan sam što sam Ambasador UNICEF-a u Srbiji, i što sam i ja doprineo da se u 10 udaljenih sela i opština u Srbiji uspostavljaju vrtići – “Vrtići bez granica” – mesta gde će deca da sanjaju, maštaju, uče i istražuju. Milena, Dunja i Milica žive u selu Veliki Izvor od rođenja. Ali prvi put su se upoznale kada je pokrenuta akcija za otvaranje vrtića u selu. Za sada nemaju mogućnosti da organizovano provode vreme i druže se sa drugom decom, ali uksoro hoće. Fantastično! Pogledajte im srećne osmehe.

Credits for the photo: UNICEF Sebia/Zoran Jovanovic Maccak