Suggestion of Murray Success Needles Djokovic

It does not take a huge amount to get under the skin of Novak Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion, and mention of Andy Murray was enough to ruffle the Serbian's feathers on the third day of the Australian Open.

It was suggested to Djokovic, who in his second-round match defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5,6-1,3-6,6-3, that whereas he had been considered as the third challenger last year to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, this time it was Murray being discussed in these terms, and even as the favorite. He bridled: "Why Andy? What's his ranking and my ranking? With all respect, and I like him as a person and a player, you cannot put him as the favorite with Roger, Rafa and myself here."

Djokovic, who has lost his last two matches to Murray, having previously held a 4-0 lead, is sensitive to such nuances and while acknowledging that the Scot had done a lot in the last couple of months, was very talented, and could be expected to win majors in the future, he was not about to concede that his first slam title might happen here next week.

The pressure is on the 21-year-old Serb who, despite winning the title here last year, and defeating Federer in the semi-finals, failed to improve on his No3 ranking, though he finished strongly with victory in the end-of-season Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Nevertheless he has been aware of the criticism, the suggestion being that his game may have reached a plateau and that Murray, who is one week older, is poised to slip past him and mount the real challenge to Nadal and Federer.

"I think I am playing better and better which is very encouraging for me, and something I planned to do," said Djokovic, who had a stuttering start to the season, blamed by many on his decision to change his make of racket. "It's normal to have ups and downs, but now things are changing." So have the expectations on his broad shoulders after last year, which is one of the fascinations.

Federer and Nadal have proved over a long period that they can respond to and deal with the pressure of defending their status; as yet Djokovic's response remains something of an unknown quantity. And the rise and rise of Murray as a genuine contender this year has obviously added to whatever uncertainties may lurk within the sometimes overly sensitive Serb.

Djokovic, who is seeded to meet Federer in the semi-finals again here, next plays Amer Delic, the US qualifier who was born in Bosnia. "He's a big server. We played at Wimbledon in 2007 and had a really close match, so I expect the same in the third round."