Today's a big day for me because I'll be in action twice. Max Mirnyi and I take on Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in the third round of the men's doubles and then I'll play my first match in mixed doubles with my partner this year, Liezel Huber.
I've been concentrating a lot more on the match against Nestor and Zimonjic because, although I won the mixed doubles title with Jelena Jankovic last year, men's doubles is my day job. Nestor and Zimonjic are seeded two and they will be very tough opponents because they are playing well but Max and I feel like we can beat them. It will be fun to get out there later in the day and play mixed doubles again, even though it's with Liezel this year rather than Jelena. I'm definitely not expecting to win the title again because that's too much to ask for but, if we get through our first match against the Russians Dmitry Tursunov and Nadia Petrova, then who knows what can happen because mixed doubles is a bit of a lottery. Jelena and I weren't expecting to win last year either.
I think everyone saw how much fun Jelena and I had out there because, in a way, we played to enjoy ourselves. Liezel likes to have fun too but she is a totally different personality from Jelena on and off court. When we're playing she is much more intense and pumped-up and it's all a bit more businesslike, which is really good and, though it's a bit of a change from Jelena, it's just as enjoyable. Liezel and I have done well together in the past and we were a few points away from making the US Open final last year. If we can do that well again here on grass at Wimbledon, then I'll be absolutely delighted.
The great thing about Liezel is that she is not afraid of anything out there and she's not easily intimidated. That's really important in mixed doubles because it's part of the guy's job to target the girl, hit the ball hard to her side of the court and try to frighten her a bit. The idea is to stop the woman going for her shots because, if you can take her out of the game, then the court suddenly becomes a lot bigger. It doesn't work on Liezel, though. She's very thick skinned and I think she actually likes it. She's always telling me to target the girl in matches and make her feel like she's not good enough to be
out there. Liezel doesn't take any prisoners, which is why she's such a good doubles player.
Liezel is world No1 in women's doubles and it goes without saying that's she's incredibly accomplished. Tactically we talk the same language because we both play doubles all the time. It's a bit like playing with Max because, like him, she's been at the top in doubles for a long time and, like him, she's won grand slams and has lots of experience. They both know what to do in certain situations because they've been there before, whereas I haven't so much. Hopefully, with their help, in the next few years I'll be able to learn as much as them.
I'm lucky because I get on very well with both Liezel and Max. Max and I are both pretty laid- back but we are at very different stages of our lives and careers. He's got a wife and two kids and I'm probably a long way from that. He's quite quiet and relaxed and people really respect him around the locker room because of what he's done in his career and the way he's gone about his business. I'm a bit more lively but then I'm younger and I've got a bit more energy. On court we're always trying to push each other. Sometimes it's me pushing him and sometimes him pushing me and that's fine with both of us. Our job is to win tennis matches because, in our line of work, if you lose you don't get paid. It can't all be laughs and smiles.