2010 Davis Cup Final preview; Serbia versus France
Riding a wave of sentiments into this season’s Davis Cup final in Belgrade, the French and Serbian finalists have everything to play during the concluding contest of 2010.
The Serbian team features Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic, Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic. The French side, on the other hand, is led by Gael Monfils, followed by Michael Llodra, Arnaud Clement and Gilles Simon.
While Djokovic and Zimonjic were busy in taking part at the season finale at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, the French side led by Monfils and Llodra were plugging away on the practice courts in their country.
There is no doubt about the fact that victory for either side would translate into a historical achievement. Serbia, a nation of over nine million people, may never get any second chance to battle for the Davis Cup crown at home, whereas the rich history
of France tennis rarely expects anything short of top honours.
Novak, who is currently ranked number three in the South African Airways ATP list, has already declared that his only goal at the moment is to bring Serbia their first Davis Cup title. The skipper of the French team, Guy Forget, on the other hand, is also
confident regarding his side’s prospects.
In spite of the fact that he has shown some nerves during the various Davis Cup ties in 2010, his competitive nature and defensive abilities have helped him to win. The top Serbian does have a couple of solid shoulders to lean on during the three day competition.
Viktor Troicki is one of them, who also won the St. Petersburg title earlier this season and decided to skip the Paris Masters event with the view of coming strongly for the Davis Cup finals.
How about Janko Tipsarevic? The right hander has also put together a descent season, highlighted obviously by his victory over Andy Roddick from the United States of America at the year’s final Grand Slam, the U.S Open back in September. The 26-year-old
Janko also recorded important singles win during the final four Davis Cup round versus the Czech Republic, and will therefore be well prepared to tackle the pressure of competing on the home soil.
When talking about the French team’s prospects, one has to think whether or not the determination and substance needed for win is there?
Gael Monfils as well as Michael Llodra, although immensely talented, have been famous to break down tactically in bigger clashes.
With the court surface playing importantly slower, Djokovic's return game and passing shots will be extremely hard to diffuse for Llodra.
Gaels' play will definitely play a significant part towards his country’s chances of survival. Playing some of the best tennis during the fall season, the Frenchman at last looks to be soaking in the wise words of his coach Roger Rasheed. However, his consistency
is one major factor that Monfils will have to work on if he wants his side to emerge victorious in the end.
The French side has a much better line-up to win the doubles point, whereas the Serbia's singles players, on the other hand, have recorded better results in 2010.
Apparently, both the teams are healthy and have been training hard to practice for the final. There has never been any secret behind French team’s success in Davis Cup, and while Serbia plays its debut Davis Cup final, there is no doubt that the budding
tennis nation is all set to become a dominant force for the crown.
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