2010 Davis Cup Finals; Highlights from Day-One
The 2010 Davis Cup final between France and Serbia is at last poised at 1-1 after the opening two rubbers were split at the Belgrade Arena on Friday.
Gael Monfils, who is currently ranked number twelve in the South African Airways ATP list, provided the visiting country France a lead of 1-0 after beating Janko Tipsarevic in three sets. The final match score was 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-0.
World number three Novak Djokovic later levelled the tie for the home side as the right hander posted a three setter win over Gilles Simon. The score line was 6-3, 6-1, and 7-5.
In today’s action of the play, Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki will take on Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement.
In a dominant exhibit from Gaels, the number one Frenchman capitalised on early nerves and subsequent unforced errors from his opponent to earn a lead of 1-4. He then clinched the opening set with a third service break during the sixth game as Janko netted
a backhand.
After being down in the opening set, Janko improved his game and put up a good fight in the second set. The right hander took two break point opportunities during the third and seventh game. Monfils, however, did well to secure a lead of 6-4 after drilling
a backhand pass at Janko, who could just volley long, and converted his opening set point opportunity as Janko smashed a forehand long.
Janko made the worst possible start to the decisive set, double faulting to lose his serve, and from thereon, there was no way back for the Serbian native. Gaels, on the other hand, won the next five games in a row, breaking serve on two occasions to post
win in the end.
“I thought I handled my emotions really well. I was very, very nervous before the match and I showed myself that I can be tough mentally and play my game in a very hard atmosphere. Also, for me to play great tennis like this in the final was not expected,
but I did it and I am really happy,” said Monfils after the match on Friday.
Janko, on the other hand, commented, “It gave him the mental edge that he knew that I was also nervous. He was a better player than me. I am disappointed by the way that I lost; it was really easier than I thought it would be. The general problem today was
that I was feeling on court like I was missing matches.”
The former second ranked Djokovic, later in the day, was quick to get Serbia back on track. The 2008 Australian Open winner dominated right from the start and did not let his French opponent bounce back at any stage of the match. He concluded the match in
a time period of two hours and eighteen minutes.
After winning the opening set comprehensively, Novak continued his lead in the following set and broke serve early to stay ahead at 2-1. He wrapped up the second set with a forehand winner during the sixth game on Friday.
A disappointed Simon despite of losing the first two sets did not give up easily and continued to battle and was thus rewarded during the tenth game as he won two match points to level the score at 5-5. The Serbian, however, took no time to rally back and
thus regained the lead in the next game and as a result served out the win in the end.
Nine time Davis Cup winner France is hoping to capture the crown on the very first occasion since 2001. Serbia, on the other hand, is looking to become the sixth nation to pick up the coveted ITF men’s team trophy on its first appearance in the World Group
final.
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