Serbia and Croatia Set for Decisive Clash
The end of the week will see Serbia and Croatia play each other in an exciting second round tie of the Davis Cup. Starting in Split, Croatia on Friday, the encounter will be played indoors on a hard court, pitting the likes of Croatia’s Marin Čilić and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic against each other.
The two nations, both formerly of Yugoslavia, have not met since becoming independent nations.
Croatia advanced through the first round of this year's Cup by defeating Ecuador in 5 straight sets in Varazdin, Croatia. Serbia produced a strong first round display against the USA, winning 3-2 in Belgrade.
During that tie, World No. 2 Djokovic withstood 24 aces from John Isner to win an epic five-set match. Djokovic, who in 2006 considered an offer to join the British cup team, but eventually turned it down, will be the key to Serbia's hopes in this week's encounter.
The undeniable star of the Serbian team, Djokovic, will be supported by Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarević, and doubles player Nenad Zimonjić in the tie.
The 24 year-old Troicki, ranked as World No. 44, also defeated Isner in the tie against the USA, but lost his match against Sam Querrey later in the tie.
Troicki, who is yet to progress from the third round of a Grand Slam tournament, achieved his highest ranking to date in August 2009, as World No. 24. He has won 9 and has lost 9 Grand Slam matches.
Tipsarević, who has a university degree in Sports Management, made it to the 4th round of Wimbledon in 2007 and 2008. This year, he reached the final of the UNICEF Open, eventually losing to Ukranian player Sergiy Stakhovsky in two straight sets.
Zimonjić, currently the World No. 1 in the doubles rankings, recently won the French Open, partnered by Canadian player Daniel Nestor. The 34 year-old hands Serbia a distinct advantage in the doubles matches of the tie.
Djokovic, winner of the 2008 Australian Open, will seek to lead his team against a strong Croatian side, that aside from Cilic, includes Ivan Ljubičić, Antonio Veić and Ivan Dodig.
31 year-old Ljubičić, currently World No. 16, returns to the Davis Cup, having not partaken in it since 2007. Earlier this year, he defeated Andy Roddick in the BNP Paribas Open in California.
Veteran Ljubičić also played for the Croatian side that went on to win the Davis Cup in 2005, defeating Slovakian opponent Karol Kucera in straight sets in the opening match of the final. He later suffered defeat to Dominik Hrbatý in a thrilling fourth match that continued for five sets.
Veić, born 1988, made it to the second round of this year’s Australian open. He is currently ranked as World No. 183. Veić will see his inclusion in the squad as a learning experience for coming seasons.
Dodig will be looking to match his opening performance from this year’s Australian open, where he defeated former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. In the second round, however, Dodig was defeated by Austrian Stefan Koubek in three straight sets.
Just as Serbia will be counting on Djokovic to carry the team, Croatia will be relying on Čilić, the latest young prospect to come out of the country.
Čilić, who achieved his top ranking in February this year, as World No. 9, is a stunning talent at a mere 21 years of age. In this year’s Australian open, Čilić made it to the semi-final. His run included an impressive defeat of reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martín del Potro in a match that lasted over four and a half hours.
Eventually losing to Andy Murray, Čilić also knocked out U.S. heavy hitter Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals. With help from his teammates, his talent should be enough to inspire Croatia to a win at the end of this week.
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