Janko Tipsarevic fearful of being dropped after Gael Monfils massacre
After Friday’s 6-1, 7-6, 6-0 massacre of Serbian World Number 49 Janko Tipsarevic on the Davis Cup courts, it seems as if the Frenchman Gael Monfils’ prediction came true. Monfils, who verbally jousted with Janko Tipsarevic only a day before the Davis Cup
final opener, suggested that his opponent would probably struggle with the fact that his country and the crowd were counting on him to give them a victory.
Monfils commented on the confidence level of his opponent, who is more popular for his philosophical arm tattoos and wraparound shades than for tennis. The French player, who is World Number 12, says, “I think he will be very nervous coming out first in
front of the Serbian crowd. I will try to be relaxed and play my game. Of course there is pressure but that’s all part of the game.”
Monfils, who has never before had victory at a Davis Cup rubber on foreign territory, entirely outclassed his Serbian opponent. He took the perfect opportunity to break out and show his full potential. He defeated Tipsarevic in the opening rubber of the
premier tournament’s final in Belgrade in straight sets, scoring both a fry and a bagel. The final score was 6-1, 7-6, 6-0, accomplished in a little more than two hours.
Serbia, who are playing their first final, had the edge of a home crowd in the Belgrade Arena (which has the capacity to seat 16,200 people). However, it seemed as if Tipsarevic could not handle the expectations. He had also not played competitively for
around a month. He got off to a terrible start with double faults on his first two service points against Monfils, and was unable to recover. He also committed 38 unforced errors, and called it one of his worst matches. He added, “I had never before started
the match with a pair of double faults, I was nervous and it’s not surprising the crowd never really got going because I gave them very little to cheer about.”
In comparison, Monfils seemed to be on fire throughout the match. He fired winner after winner and displayed immense ease on the court. Tipsarevic was dejected after the match, but displayed sportsmanship by saying, “Stage fright is not the main reason for
my bad performance though, quite simply I lost to a better player today and all credit to Monfils.”
Consequently, the Serbian player says that he will not be surprised if team captain Bogdan Obradovic cuts him out of the Davis Cup final reverse singles on Sunday. After Monfils gave France a 1-0 lead, Tipsarevic said in a press conference, “Honestly, I
don’t know whether I should play and what to expect, it’s up to team captain Bogdan Obradovic. I will also speak to (Serbia’s Number 2) and see how he feels after Saturday’s doubles; hopefully we will head into that 1-1.”
He added that he himself was capable of playing, telling reporters, “Whatever happens, I am fit and ready to play on Sunday if the tie goes down the wire and my confidence is not shattered, but we have to talk it over and see what’s best for the team.”
Meanwhile, Serbian World Number 3 Novak Djokovic faced Gilles Simon in the second rubber of the day. In addition to this, Nenad Zimonjic and Troicki will join forces on Serbia’s side, to face Frenchmen Arnaud Clemont and Michael Llodra on Saturday’s doubles
rubber, while Djokovic combats Monfils on Sunday.
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