DJOKOVIC HELPS SERBIA JOIN FRANCE AS FIRST NATIONS THROUGH TO DAVIS CUP QUARTERFINALS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 7th March 2015
Davis Cup - Serbia vs Croatia
DJOKOVIC HELPS SERBIA JOIN FRANCE AS FIRST NATIONS THROUGH TO DAVIS CUP QUARTERFINALS BY RICKY DIMON

epa04650751 Serbia's Novak Djokovic applauds after the singles match between Viktor Troicki of Serbia and Borna Coric of Croatia at the Davis Cup World Group first round tie between Serbia and Croatia in Kraljevo, Serbia, 06 March 2015. EPA/KOCA SULEJMANOVIC  |

Novak Djokovic pulled double duty to take the suspense out of the first-round Davis Cup tie between Serbia and Croatia. Djokovic won his singles match on Friday then teamed up with Nenad Zimonjic to take Saturday’s doubles rubber in Kraljevo.

 

“I was very much aware of my young opponent’s quality,” the world No. 1 said following his 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Mate Delic on Friday. “He does have a lot of potential to be very good in the future. I enjoyed the atmosphere very much as I played for the first time in Kraljevo and this region in general. It was a full house and overall a very positive emotion.”

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Mate Delic of Croatia during their singles match of the Davis Cup World Group first round tie between Serbia and Croatia in Kraljevo, Serbia, 06 March 2015. EPA/KOCA SULEJMANOVIC

 

Viktor Troicki’s 4-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 comeback against Borna Coric gave Djokovic and Zimonjic an opportunity to clinch the overall win for the host nation on Saturday. That’s exactly what they did, beating Marin Draganja and Franco Skugor 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

 

“It was very nice to be on the court with Novak,” Zimonjic reflected. “It was not easy for him to adjust to doubles because he doesn’t play doubles that often on the tour. I am really happy we played the way did and the longer the match went on the better we felt.”

France is the only other country through to the World Group quarterfinals after just two days of action. The remaining six ties will all be decided on Sunday.

 

Arguably the deepest team in tennis, France cruised past Germany 3-0 thanks to all four of its players. Following singles victories by Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils, Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut won the doubles rubber. They defeated Andre Begemann and Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

France’s Gael Monfils (R) is congratulated by Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber (L) after winning their singles match of the Davis Cup World Group first round tie between Germany and France in Frankfurt, Germany, 06 March 2015. EPA/ARNE DEDERT

 

“It was a perfect doubles for our team,” French captain Arnaud Clement commented. “Tennis matches, especially doubles matches, can turn very quickly. [Benneteau and Mahut] stayed focused until the last point and [I’m] very proud of them.”

Clement and company await either Great Britain or the United States in the last eight. Serbia will go up against the Brazil-Argentina winner.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.