Talented Serbian teenager Novak Djokovic has apparently discussed a change to become a British citizen. How do you feel about this? Is it good for British tennis to have more strength in depth or is it one step further than Rusedski?

Of course it is good to have mor estrenght and depth for Britain, but I feel it onyl really counts for something if that strenght and depth is emerging from thsi country itself, not by bringing in people who were not born or bred here and who have not been part of the system in thsi country. People do feel more affinity with ahome grown player than an imported one. Djokovic is a good player, shame this country is not producing players liek that itself though.

Novak is doing this purely out of selfish reasons and i hold nothing against him for that. He wants to move in order to get better support for his brothers and feels there are better facilities in the UK..also the serb & mon split has something to do with it i think. Why the UK though? s'not like its a great tennis nation.....

I have no problem with HIM trying to become a GBR player cos tennis is a selfish sport. but the LTA are blatantly trying to use him to cover up the flaws in their system. Who was the last GOOD player that the LTA helped bring up? Not andy, greg or TIm as far as i can tell....

Great post MK.

I believe the fact that it was probable the Montenegrins would vote for independence (and indeed have) was a major factor in his alleged interest in becoming a UK citizen. There will always be a period of adjustment to any state/country split, and of course both economies will be hit as a result; thus, it probably is in his best interests to go somewhere with more stable funding and availability of facilities.

I for one welcome him; when I watched him play at Braehead Arena for the Davis Cup I was very impressed. He has a fairly good repertoire of shots already and if he can continue to improve then he will truly be a wonderful talent. In saying that, I was also impressed with Tipsarevic and Zimonjic (spelling mistakes, I'm sure...), maybe there's something in the water in S&M (S/M now I suppose) which he will lose coming here! :wacko:

Yeah I wonder if othe Serbia and Montenegrans will want to change nationalities due to the upheaval?

Yeah i quite like novak (BTW is it just me or does he look like tim henman?). I'd have no problem with Djokovic becoming a brit even if it is a calculated move (which it clearly is...kinda like Greg though), cos i would enjoy supporting someone GOOD for a change (i am quite patriotic) ....come on Big Arvs or Novak Djokovic? roflmao

So again i have no problem with his decision but the LTA clearly wanna mask their own shortcomings and think the public must be too dumb to realise that they didnt preen him. The fact that Djokovic chose england shows the desperation of the LTA, for some reason i don't see the spaniard or french tennis authorities falling over themselves trying to capture him. Why? cos they actually do their jobs and give homegrown talent opportunities so they dont need "imports".

If ND did become a GBR representative I don't think much would change in his game, he might go a bit further at wimbledon etc due to more support but i dont think that a 'loss of passion' will have an adverse effect on his game. At the moment i'm against this move because i think the LTA need to get their ass in gear and do something (effective) for once BUT if he did become a brit i'd be 100% behind him :ok:

Yeah MK. The thing is we all want to see tennis talent tat has COME from this country above all else. We want out sytem to have at least PRODUCED the talent even if it wa snot strictly native to Britain. And on top of that I don't mind "imports", but without the backbone ebign in place these are never going to replace the real thing and I don't think peopel will eb fooled by the LTA tryign to mask it's shortcomings.

Oh and I meant to add that the opprtunism of soem of these transfers of citizenship really puts me off. Playing for Britain is fine if you have a passion for the country and a genuine desire to serve it well, but if it's all about your own career and that wildcard to Wimbers then I am nto happy and welcoming at all.

No tennis player really ever switches nationality due to passion for the country to which they are "pledging allegiance", so to speak. Greg, for example, came here because it had better tennis facilities - and I am sure deep down he feels at least equal parts Canadian as, if not more than, British. When Navratilova changed from Czechoslovakia (spelling probably wrong yet again, I'm awful with E. Europe) she could have chosen anywhere in hte world; she chose the USA mainly due to its superior facilities. But then she had the luxury of doing so...

We can't really blame these players for what they do. If they see an opportunity to advance their careers, like most people (assuming it doesn't hurt/compromise anyone) they will take it. I know I would.

"We are dead for all eternity, but only alive for a moment". Why not make the most of it?

Djoko will be a disgrace to the team. RIP

a disgrace? I doubt that.

I also highly doubt that Djokovic will be a disgrace. The guy is a good player, with a decent array of shots. At least then we won't have to entirely rely on Greg and Andy for everything, someone else will be added to the mix...

I think it would be a big backward step for our tennis - Are we then going to start following Djokovic around the tour as a 'Brit'?