2010 Davis Cup Final: Novak Djokovic vs. Gilles Simon – Match Review
It’s Friday and the Davis Cup (DC) Final kicks off at Belgrade with first time finalist Serbia hosting France this year. Nine time winner France looks to win its tenth DC final this year. It last won the final nine years ago in
2001.
It was Gael Monfils and Janko Tipsarevic playing the opening match at the final. As Monfils defeated Tipsarevic in three straight sets by 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-0; France leads Serbia by 1-0. As Serb Novak Djokovic entered the court to
meet French Gilles Simon, the pressure of the 0-1 trail was firmly in his mind.
Currently ranked third in the ATP rankings below only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic finished his season with two titles win, defending his title at Beijing and Dubai. He also made final appearances at Basel and the prestigious
United States Open. His run at Wimbledon was halted at the semis while that at the Australian Open was halted in the quarterfinals. The regular tennis season ended for Djokovic only last Saturday, after he made a semi final appearance at the Barclays ATP World
Tour Finals. Finishing off the season with an impressive 59-18 mark, the Serb was all set to take on France at the DC final.
Although the highest ranked player in his team, his opponent from France was one who lacked behind in every sense possible. Ranked 42 in the ATP rankings, Simon only has one title at an ATP 250 series event this season.
Meeting for the seventh time on the courts, Djokovic upped his already huge lead against Simon to 6-1 in their head-to-head standing. Having lost only once to Simon in 2008 at Marseille; Djokovic now enjoys six straight wins over
the French.
Winning the toss, Simon opens serve in the opener and wins it to go 1-0 in the score. Djokovic is quick to tie up the score. For the next six games, neither player lets go of the lead keeping the score tied until 3-3. Breaking
Simon’s serve in the seventh game and after half a dozen deuces, Djokovic finally manages to catch a break going 4-3 in the score. Djokovic goes on to win the next two games to win the first set 6-3 and take a one set lead over the French.
Going into the second set, Djokovic opens serve and quickly takes a 1-0 lead. Although Simon wins the next game on service, he failed to win any others after. Winning five consecutive games, Djokovic bags the second set as well
on 6-1. The Serb goes into a two set lead.
Two players enter into the third set, with Simon showing some form this time. Although Djokovic rushes into a 5-3 lead, Simon quickly bounces back and ties up the score at 5-5. Breaking serve in the eleventh game of the third set
and then winning the next game, Djokovic wins the third set 7-5 and in effect the match.
Thanking the crowd for their support after the match, Djokovic said, “Definitely it's an advantage for the home team playing in front of their people. To be able to have this support is really relevant. This competition depends
on crowd support. That's why this competition is very unpredictable and unique, especially at the later stages where you play top players. The crowd gives you extra if you're tired."
Djokovic’s win ties up Serbia with France at 1-1 in the score. With one win, each, both teams will now look to excel in the doubles match on Saturday in hopes of taking the lead.
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