Novak Djokovic's Serbia Open opponent fires threat to No 1 as he shares motivation to win

Novak Djokovic's latest opponent has fired a warning at him as he looks to hand the Serb his second successive opening-round loss. The world No 1 will face compatriot Laslo Djere in his opening match at the Serbia Open on Wednesday in what will be a first meeting between the countrymen, and Djere is looking to repeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's heroics after the Spaniard knocked Djokovic out of last week's Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic is the top seed at this week's Serbia Open, held in his own Novak Tennis Centre in his home of Belgrade where his brother Djordje is the tournament director. Having received a bye to the second round, the 20-time Grand Slam champion will meet countryman and world No 50 Djere on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old defeated another Serb in wildcard Hamad Medjedovic 6-4 7-5 in the first round on Tuesday, earning the chance to face the world No 1 for the first time in his career, and Djere was feeling positive about his chances. "We know each other very well," the two-time title winner said.

"To beat him I know I will have to play my best tennis. To use my chances. I am motivated for the match tomorrow, I am looking forward to our first clash." The former world No 27 shared his confidence ahead of his meeting with Djokovic, relishing playing on his most successful surface after starting the clay-court season with a 5-2 win-loss record.

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"The transition from hard to clay is not easy," Djere admitted. "This is my favourite surface, I had two great weeks. Last and the one before that, the semifinals in Marrakech, a good tournament in Monte Carlo. I started the tournament with a good dose of self-confidence, which was not the