Serbia takes on Argentina at home in Davis Cup semis

Written by: Global Chick on 14th September 2011

Serbia takes on Argentina at home in Davis Cup semis

Victor Troicki of Serbia hits a return to Alejandro Falla of Colombia during their first round match on the first day of the 2011 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA 29 August 2011. The US Open runs through 11 September 2011. EPA/JASON SZENES |

Serbian tennis could not be in better shape right now. The defending Champions will host Argentina at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade starting on Friday.

The World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and his teammates Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic will face the tough Argentinian team of Juan Martin Del Potro, Juan Monaco, David Nalbandian and Juan Ignacio Chela.

The newly crowned US Open Champion Novak Djokovic will be returning to his home country after his win in New York. Luckily the Serbian number one has got a great team of players to back him up should he feel too tired and sore after his huge American summer of tennis.

Serbia won easily 4-1 over Sweden in the quarterfinals. Sweden was missing their number one player Robin Soderling and they didn’t have a strong back up player for the singles. Troicki beat Michael Ryderstedt in four sets and Tipsarevic back it up with a win over Erin Eleskovic. The only rubber Sweden managed to win was the doubles with Simon Aspelin and Robert Lindstedt beat Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic. Djokovic was in Sweden for the tie but opted not to play in the singles rubbers.

World No. 13 Janko Tipsarevic had a great run at the US Open but he ended up retiring in the quarterfinals due to an injury to his fellow country man Djokovic. The Serbian No. 2 was runner up in Delray Beach and Eastbourne earlier in the year. A very handy player to have in your team.

The third Serbian player inside Top 20 is Viktor Troicki at No. 16. His best result this summer was a quarterfinal in Washington. His best result this year was in Sydney, Australia at the beginning of the year when he got to the final and lost to Gilles Simon.

Nenad Zimonjic is one of the world’s best doubles players. Zimo was ranked number one in the world back in 2008 and he is currently at No. 3. Zimonjic has partnered Michael Llodra and Daniel Nestor in recent years. This year he has won the Masters Series in Montreal and Washing both with Frenchman Michael Llodra. The doubles player is holding a 24/9 doubles record in Davis Cup. Nenad is capable of playing with any of the other team members.

The Argentinian team are full of experienced players. The 2009 US Open winner is on the comeback trail after suffering from injuries and having had an operation on his wrist in 2010. He is climbing steadily up the rankings and he is one of the few players right now who can compete with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

David Nalbandian the former world number three is currently playing at a ranking of 74. The former Wimbledon finalist is not showcasing his best form at the moment but he could cause the Serbians some problems on the weekend. The feisty competitor isn’t always easy to shake up and in Davis Cup matches King David thrives on having the crowd behind him.

Juan Monaco is ranked No. 27 and has been as high as No. 14. Monaco lost in the round of 16 to Roger Federer at the US Open. He won his two rubbers when Argentina beat Kazakhstan in July.

Juan Ignacio Chela the World No. 24 reached the quarterfinals of the French Open this year and lost to Andy Murray. Chela holds a win/loss record of 11/5 in Davis Cup Matches and most of his wins are on clay.

Argentina and Serbia have not played each other since 1964 when the Serbian players represented Yugoslavia. Argentina have finished runners up in 1981, 2006 and 2008.