Serbia downs Sweden 4-1 to reach the quarterfinals – Davis Cup WG 2012
Team Serbia defeated Sweden 4-1 in the first round tie of the Davis Cup World Group at the indoor hard courts of Hala Cair in Nis, Serbia on Sunday.
The 2010 Champion, Serbia, was without its top player Novak Djokovic. Ranked at number one in the world, Djokovic decided to take rest after winning the Australian Open but Djokovic’s absence did not trouble the Serbians, as Tipsarevic
claimed victory for them.
The Serbian defeated Michael Ryderstedt in straight sets 6-2 7-6(5) 7-5 in the fourth rubber to seal the tie for his country. Tipsarevic’s win gave Serbia an unassailable 3-1 lead and made sure that it moves to the quarterfinals.
Ryderstedt and Tipsarevic held their serve in the first four games of the opening set, equalising the score at 2-2. It was an all Tipsarevic show after that, as the Serbian grabbed four games in a row to win the set 6-2.
In the second set, Tipsarevic and Ryderstedt failed to break until the end. They levelled the score at 6-6, taking the set to a tie-breaker and the Serbian claimed a late mini-break to seal it at 7-5.
Continuing their impressive serve performance, Tipsarevic and Ryderstedt did not lose it in the first 11 games and took the score to 6-5 in favour of the Serbian. Tipsarevic managed to break his opponent’s serve in the 12th game,
capturing the set 7-5.
Tipsarevic said, after the match, "I want to thank my team for standing by me through the thick and thin and this is also the best home crowd we have ever played for. I hope some of these fans will be able to make the trip with
us to the Czech Republic because it will be a very open match."
Later, Dusan Lajovic of Serbia beat Swedish Filip Prpic in straight sets 6-4 6-4 in the fifth rubber to close the tie 4-1.
Serbia’s coach, Zeljko Obradovic, said, “It's never easy to play matches in which you are the odds-on favourite but the players dealt with the pressure really well against Sweden. With a bit of luck, we will reach this year's final
and hopefully take on Spain because we are confident that we can beat them on home soil.”
Johan Brunstrom and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden battles past Serbian pair of Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic in five sets 6-3 3-6 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 8-10 in the doubles match on Saturday.
Serbia will play Czech Republic in the second round. Czech Republic downed Italy 4-1 in the first round.
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