Novak Djokovic is happy to be No. 2

Novak Djokovic is here at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament and if that doesn’t seem like a big deal, understand that the world’s second-ranked player flew from Serbia Monday even though he left much of his heart and most of his energy in a raucous 20,000-seat arena in Belgrade.

If it didn’t get much notice, Djokovic led Serbia to a first-round Davis Cup win over the United States last weekend. Besides his on court duties, Djokovic played congenial host, having the players from both teams to dinner at a Belgrade restaurant owned by himself, where the silverware had his name engraved on it.

And now Djokovic is the No. 2 seed in a draw that includes world No. 1 Roger Federer and the man many people still think of as No. 2, Rafael Nadal plus Australian Open finalist Andy Murray, who is the fourth seed.

For Djokovic, the accomplishment of being ranked behind only Federer is meaningful.

“It’s a big achievement,” he said. “Being No. 2 in the world, that is something I’ve been waiting for and I think I deserve it. I still feel I can go further of course. My lifetime goal is to be best in the world but I have quite some confidence now by being No. 2.”

Djokovic became No. 2 on Feb. 1. He is still only 22 though he’s already in his fifth year of playing the pro circuit. Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2008 and is a one-time runner up and two-time semifinalist at the U.S. Open.

He has a two-sided reputation in the United States, as both a good-natured clown who does spot-on impressions, especially of John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova, and as a thin-skinned complainer who took quick offense during the 2008 U.S. Open when Andy Roddick made a joking comment about Djokovic’s perceived tendency to have injuries and illnesses.

When Roddick said it seemed Djokovic had suffered everything but “SARS and swine flu,” Djokovic said to the Open crowd, “That’s not nice, anyhow, to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and that I’m faking.”

But last year Djokovic played along with McEnroe during ESPN’s Open television coverage and earned back the goodwill of the New Yorkers.

Now he has a foot firmly planted in the United States. He is represented by the Los Angeles-based CAA agency. He’s an early commit to the LA Open in August and his tennis goals are being groomed by his longtime coach Marian Vajda but also by former U.S. Davis Cup stalwart Todd Martin who has been urging Djokovic to make his tennis imitate his out-there personality.

“Novak has some significant aspirations,” Martin said. “In order to accomplish those I think we’ve come to a quick conclusion that some offensive skills need to be infused into his game. He’s so good at the counterpunching and defending and that’s where he reverts to by nature.

.”But to sustain the level of success he wants, he needs to become more offensive.”

Djokovic agrees. He looks to Federer as the example of a man who has the perfect game. “He is a player who is able to have different varieties,” Djokovic said. “He is most comfortable on the baseline but he is able to play serve-and-volley and that gives him a mental advantage over opponents. He has options to choose from. I’d like to be like that.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com