Sick Djokovic to miss opening day of Davis Cup
US Open runner-up Novak Djokovic will not play in the opening rubber of Serbia’s Davis Cup semi-final clash against the Czech Republic due to a bout of gastroenteritis.
The world No. 2 had been scheduled to play Radek Stepanek in the opening rubber of the tie, but will now be replaced by world No. 47 Viktor Troicki.
While the out-of-form Stepanek, currently ranked as the world No. 35, may appear to be favoured by the enforced swap, Troicki has every reason to be confident that he can get Serbia off to a winning start in this match.
The 24-year-old trails Stepanek 3-2 in their career head-to-head record, but those two wins came as Troicki inflicted back-to-back losses on the 31-year-old Czech in Cincinnati and New Haven this summer.
Troicki has won one and lost two of his Davis Cup singles rubbers this year, his defeats coming at the hands of the USA’s Sam Querrey in the first round of the competition and Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals.
His sole victory so far in 2010 was a four-set win against John Isner in the opening rubber of Serbia’s tie against the American’s, and he may yet prove to be the man to hand his team an early advantage in the semis.
And while the battle-weary Djokovic was facing a four-day turn-around from the US Open final to today’s match, Troicki should also have much fresher legs, after bowing out of the year’s final Grand Slam in a tough five-set battle against the man he is replacing in today’s opening rubber.
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