Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic was visibly upset on Friday after Serbia had to bow down to Russia in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup. The countries’ standings were decided through a doubles match, which saw Djokovic and fellow Serb player Viktor Troicki facing off with Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.
Serbia, Novak Djokovic exit Davis Cup early
Djokovic and Troicki were not able to capitalize on the three match points against the Russian pair, resulting in a 2-1 result in favor of Russia. Because of the match, Serbia had to exit during the quarter-final round of the tournament. While the quarter-finals finish for Serbia was a surprise, it was actually an improvement over their 2018 performance when they lost to the United States on the first round.
Russia will then advance to the semifinals of the Davis Cup. Canada will be its opponent in that round. The other two countries in the semifinals are Spain and Great Britain.
When asked about how he felt about his team’s early exit, Djokovic admitted that it hurt. He was especially emotional because he was hoping to perform better as a way to send off their teammate Janko Tipsarevic, who is retiring at age 35.
In the press conference after the games, Troicki was emotional himself. He said that the series of matches in Madrid is the worst moment of his career. Because of this, he apologized to his teammates because he felt that he let them down.
Team captain Nenad Zimonjic said that it was heartbreaking for him to see Serbia’s “golden generation” be knocked out of the competition like that. But he also explained that their sadness was not just about the loss but their inability to deliver a spectacular sendoff for Tipsaveric.
A lot of tennis fans were touched by the emotional press conference. The press and media people present in the conference applauded the players for displaying raw emotion.
Missed chance for Nadal face off
With Serbia’s defeat, Davis Cup audiences missed the chance to see a match between the world no. 1 and no. 2. The game between Djokovic and Spanish player Rafael Nadal would have been one of the blockbuster matches in the Madrid tournament. If Serbia was able to reach the finals with Spain, it would have been the first time that Nadal and Djokovic will face off sine the Italian Open finals in May.
Nadal, who is leading the charge for Spain, recorded another singles and doubles win during the quarter-finals. With these recent victories, Nadal further extends his record for the most consecutive wins in the Davis Cup. He currently holds 28 straight wins in the tournament.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Novak played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to bow to Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 in the R in London.
This year Novak has a 54-11 win-loss record. Novak clinched 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.
Novak Djokovic |
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