Davis Cup 2010: Czech Republic and Serbia 1-1
Serbian tennis ace Janko Tipsarevic defeated Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych in the semi-final round of the Davis Cup 2010 in a total of four sets on Friday. The final match score was 7-5, 6-2, 2-6 and 7-6 (5).
Viktor made his way into the team as a late replacement for the United States Open finalist Novak Djokovic, who withdrew as a result of some tiredness after his late arrival from Flushing Meadows.
“We are still one of the best teams even if Novak wants to take a day off. We are certainly one of the best in the world,” said Tipsarevic.
Tipsarevic’s victory over Wimbledon finalist was viewed by 15,000 spectators in the Belgrade Arena. A standing ovation was given to the Serb as he saved his country’s hope of making its way into the final of the Davis Cup for the first time.
“Radek provided me with the best gift however I just made it harder for my side. It would have been a much better day for me if we were up 2-0. The home side seems quite confident and it would have been a good cold shower for the Serbians.”
Janko’s good returns took the fire power away from Tomas’ strongest weapons - his powerful serves. The Serbian had Tomas in trouble during most parts of the Czech’s service games and broke on a total of two occasions to take the lead.
A net cord ball provided the world number seven Berdych with a lead of 3-1 in the third set. Janko smashed the ball into the roof of the arena after which he never managed to recapture his rhythm.
Another net cord resulted in 3-1 for the Czech during the fourth set of the match after Janko had prevented two break points. However, this time round, Janko remained focused and bounced back immediately with a brilliant low forehand.
In the tiebreaker, Tomas sent a forehand long on Janko’s second match point.
“I provided him with a lot of comfortable points and a couple of chances on my serve,” said Tomas after the match.
Janko is ranked number 37 in the world and recently got the better of his American tennis foe, Andy Roddick at the year’s final major in New York.
Novak officially announced his withdrawal from the Davis Cup 2010 as a result of gastroenteritis. However, he also told reporters that he was still not feeling fit after the U.S Open. Despite his unavailability, the world number two watched the match and
was of the view that he might still participate in the doubles contest.
Djokovic was defeated by world number one Rafael Nadal in the final of the U.S Open on Monday. He needed 5 lengthy sets to oust Roger Federer in the semi-final and then played a total of four against Rafa in the final.
Even though Viktor looked quite good as the match started, but the player lost momentum as it progressed. The experienced Radek from the Czech Republic enjoyed the upper hand during the second set as he kept on changing his speed with the help of drop shots
and forced Viktor into a number of errors.
Despite a lot of support from the crowd, Viktor failed to pick up his game and couldn’t give Serbia a 2-1 lead. He had a total of 20 aces against Radek’s eight. However the Serb also had 50 unforced errors, 14 more than Radek. The Czech Republic was last
season’s finalist against Spain. In the other semi-final on Friday, France leads Argentina 2-0.
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