It must be hard to be the brother of a star. A sports star, especially. Many of us seem to embrace the notion that if one brother is a huge talent, the other must be, too. Same parents, right? Same upbringing? Same results. Easy.

Almost never works out. The “other” is generally shorter or stouter or not gifted with the same set of reflexes, and then he goes through years of “he’s nothing like his brother”, which can’t be a healthy thing.

For every instance of the Alous and the DiMaggios, families who produced at least three accomplished professional athletes in the same generation, we must have a 10,000 examples of Novak Djokovic and his little brother Marco.

Big and little brother teamed today to play doubles in the first round of the ATP tournament in Dubai this week. How did it go?

Not well.

Our reporter on the scene pretty much laid responsibility on little brother for a 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 loss to Nicolay Davydenko and Dick Norman.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon news meeting of The National, in Abu Dhabi, someone suggested that the Djokovic Bros. strategy would be simple: Novak shouting “I got it!” on every ball.

Our correspondent suggested that Marko — ranked No. 662 in the world — “struggled with the pressure” and “crumbled”.

Here is his recounting of some key points in the first-to-10 tiebreak:

Davydenko and Norman started targeting Marko, 21, who made a spat of unforced errors. At 4-5, he found the net from close distance; at 4-6 and with Norman’s high return sitting up perfect, he drilled it long; and at 4-7, he shanked his return wildly into the air. – See more at: http://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/dubai-tennis-championships-novak-djokovic-and-brother-marko-fall-at-first-hurdle-in-mens-doubles#sthash.iS2T4UUb.dpuf

Davydenko and Norman started targeting Marko, 21, who made a spat of unforced errors. At 4-5, he found the net from close distance; at 4-6 and with Norman’s high return sitting up perfect, he drilled it long; and at 4-7, he shanked his return wildly into the air. – See more at: http://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/dubai-tennis-championships-novak-djokovic-and-brother-marko-fall-at-first-hurdle-in-mens-doubles#sthash.iS2T4UUb.dpuf

“Davydenko and Norman began targeting Marko, 21, who made a spate of unforced errors. At 4-5, he found the net from close distance; at 4-6, and with Norman’s high return sitting up perfect, he drilled it long; and at 4-7 he shanked his return wildly into the air.”

Ugh.

A year ago, a correspondent for the Telegraph, an English newspaper, went to see Marko play a singles match and noted how much like Novak he looked. But when it comes to the business of tennis it “was like watching a tape of Novak running at three-quarter speed”.

A good rule of thumb? Little brothers should not try to emulate star brothers — unless it becomes clear at an early age that little brother might well be better.  Marko, No. 662 in the world at age 21, is not showing any signs of this.

(Even though family members, rather typically, apparently have suggested they always thought Marko would be the real talent. Families always say a sibling is going to be as good or better than the star, and the sibling never is.)

Our reporter says that the brothers each put an arm around the other, when it was over. A nice gesture. “A not your fault, Bro,” moment, even when it was.

However, it might be better for Marko Djokovic to find something at which he will not be known as Novak’s little brother. It’s tough enough being the brother of a star, but when that brother is ranked No. 1 in the world, it sounds like a recipe for frustration.

And that includes you, too, 17-year-old Djordje Djokovic. Unless you can take a few points off Novak, and soon … may want to find your own niche, too. Maybe you and Marko can go into business together.

Davydenko and Norman started targeting Marko, 21, who made a spat of unforced errors. At 4-5, he found the net from close distance; at 4-6 and with Norman’s high return sitting up perfect, he drilled it long; and at 4-7, he shanked his return wildly into the air. – See more at: http://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/dubai-tennis-championships-novak-djokovic-and-brother-marko-fall-at-first-hurdle-in-mens-doubles#sthash.iS2T4UUb.dpuf