KRISTEN’S KOURT: Djokovic Sends Serbia Through Despite Injury

Written by: Staff on 7th April 2013

KRISTEN'S KOURT: Djokovic Sends Serbia Through Despite Injury

epa03653352 Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return against Sam Querrey of the US during the 2013 Davis Cup World Group quarter final at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho, USA, 07 April 2013. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Team USA will have to wait at least another year before getting the chance to play for another Davis Cup title. The American team was eliminated in the World Group quarterfinals today after Novak Djokovic knocked out Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-0 in the fourth match of the weekend.

The match started off with the world no. 1 severely injuring his ankle after landing on it wrong in the third game. For the majority of the remainder of the first set, he was visibly in pain – limping between points, cringing if he had to move too much in a rally, and nearly in tears during each changeover as he received constant treatment from his coach. It was an enormous opportunity missed by Querrey, if you ask me. Djokovic began playing really aggressively; hitting his shots as hard and as fast as he could to keep the points as short as possible. But rather than try to simply keep the ball in play, Sam felt he had to play just as aggressively. This is where he let a lot of chances get away from him. The Serbian was brought to his knees when he was injured. That should have been all Sam needed to see before capitalizing on a rare moment of both physical and mental weakness from the top-ranked Djokovic. Instead, he saw the opportunity – and the first set – slip away.

The second set began just as ugly for the American as the first had ended. Despite a still pretty painful injury, Novak quickly got a break of serve. But the crowd soon made it known that they weren’t ready to see the hometown team go down without a fight. It was the energy from the crowd that allowed Querrey to earn the break of serve and go on to take the second set in a tiebreak. But just as the momentum seemed to start favoring the American, he began to fade. He quickly lost the third set 6-1 and called for team trainer Doug Spreen before beginning the fourth. He appeared to be suffering from some kind of pull in his chest up near his right shoulder – the shoulder that unfortunately controlled his powerful serve and forehand. Without his usual weapons Querrey was helpless and quickly lost the fourth set and the match; eliminating the Americans from the World Group competition for the remainder of the year.

Djokovic, who somehow managed to play through the pain brilliantly was visibly emotional after the win today. “Obviously it’s very strong emotion when you play for your country; I guess that’s the biggest reason why I kept playing,” he said. “I’m very happy, very emotional about the win today. It meant a lot to me personally and the whole team and the nation, and we are very glad to be in semifinals again.”

As for how his ankle feels now that the adrenaline has worn off? “Injuries are a part of sport, and you try to avoid as much as you can as an athlete. The nature of the injury is still to be determined. One hour, one hour and a half after the end of the match, all I can say now is it doesn’t look good…So what’s going to happen for me next is to try to first of all diagnose and determine the nature of the injury and how bad it is, and then see from there.”

Serbia will play Canada, who posted a brilliant 3-1 win against Italy with help of Milos Raonic on September 13-15 at a venue that is yet to be determined on Serbian soil.

Follow Kristen on Twitter! @KristensKourt and @10sballs_com

Topics: American tennis news, Davis Cup, Kristen Tracy, Novak Djokovic, Sam Querrey, Serbian tennis news, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News