He is not short on confidence either.

"I've been working very hard in the past year and a half, so it's paying off right now," the Serb calmly told reporters after dumping Federer out in Melbourne.

"Obviously, everybody was trying to figure out the way they can win against Roger.

"I knew that I had to believe in myself in the first place, and I had to be positive on the court, not nervous, just to stay with him all the time, and be aggressive. That's what I did."

Djokovic says his emergence is good for the sport.

"I think the dominance of Federer and Nadal ... was just amazing the last couple of years. So I think it's great for ... tennis lovers all around the world, to see something new."

Federer, though, is quick to remind any doubters that he suffered a viral illness before the Open and that his crown as world's best is not in danger.

'I've created a monster'

"I'll definitely reflect on what happened," Federer said after his loss to Djokovic. "You know, considering my illness, I'm sort of happy with the result here.

"Of course, I've created a monster, so I know I need to always win every tournament. But semis is still pretty good. I didn't play my best throughout the championships, but it was pretty solid, so it was OK.

"Winning every other week, you know, lose a set and people say I'm playing bad. So it's my own mistake, I guess."

【体坛英语资讯：Vultures circling over Federer】相关文章：

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Tom Cruise and wife set to move to New York

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Frances first lady also first in record sales

★ 体坛英语资讯：China, Indonesia share light at badminton worlds

★ 娱乐资讯： Katie Holmes playdate with her mini-me daughter

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Hatcher defends herself over deal

★ 体坛英语资讯：Bremen promote Nouri as head coach

★ 体坛资讯：Yis NBA future up to himself - sport official

★ 体坛英语资讯：Yao delivers victory in national team return

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Maggie Q, Chow Yun-Fat vying for box office

★ 体坛英语资讯：China suffers 4-0 loss to Brazil