Djokovic Deeply Involved in Beijing, is Looking Ahead to Davis Cup Finals Too

Written by: Staff on 13th October 2010

Djokovic Deeply Involved in Beijing, is Looking Ahead to Davis Cup Finals Too

Novak Djokovic (SRB) |

Novak Djokovic may be making his bid for some Chinese tennis history of his own as he chases the Shanghai Masters title after backing up his Beijing trophy in the delayed final on Monday. But the Serb world No. 2 also has his mind’s eye on some record-setting much closer to home as Serbia face France next month in a first-ever Davis Cup final for Europe’s newest power tennis nation.

Djokovic, whose rise into the elite helped to spark Serbian tennis prominence, is trying to keep it all in perspective as the ATP season builds up to the World Tour Finals from November 21-28 in London, followed the next weekend by the Davis final in Belgrade.

“It’s been the best Davis Cup year ever in the history of Serbian tennis,” Djokovic said after starting his Shanghai week with a victory. “We get to play finals at home.

“We hope that we’ll have a full arena of support, it’s very important. We are playing against France, who has much more success and tradition in this competition than us. They have great players, but we’re confident we can pull out the win.”

Home officials and police will have to be on guard after Serbian football fan violence resulted in a delayed kick-off and then suspension of a Euro 2012 qualifying match against Italy in Genoa this week.

The Davis Cup is well-known as a major funding source for federations of small nations, with any potential incidents eventually having possible effects on income earned from ties.

“Davis Cup is a very unique competition where you get to feel the team spirit that you don’t get to feel that often,” said the fiercely proud Djokovic, whose family owns the country’s only ATP event in Belgrade. “We are individuals, so we mostly perform for ourselves.

“In Davis Cup, it’s about the team, it’s about supporting each other, winning for your country. It’s why we always try to give, you know, the last piece of energy for our country.”

Topics: Atp, Beijing, Belgrade, Chases, Closer To Home, Davis Cup, Davis Cup Finals, Euro 2012, Face France, Fan Violence, Football Fan, Genoa, Masters Title, Match, Novak Djokovic, Power Tennis, Prominence, Shanghai, Team Spirit, Tennis History