Djokovic Propels Serbia To Early Lead

  • Posted: Feb 04, 2017

Djokovic Propels Serbia To Early Lead

ATPWorldTour.com rounds up Davis Cup World Group first-round play on Friday

SERBIA 2, RUSSIA 0

Venue: Cair Sports Center, Nis, Serbia (Indoor Hard)

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic fought off a stern challenge from #NextGenATP star Daniil Medvedev, giving Serbia a convincing 2-0 lead when Medvedev retired due to a leg issue. Djokovic was leading 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-0.

Djokovic fired 21 winners and accumulated seven breaks of serve in the contest. He improved his Davis Cup singles record to 30-7.

In the first match of the tie, Viktor Troicki saved a match point in the fifth-set tie-breaker to complete a dramatic 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(6) victory over another #NextGenATP star in Karen Khachanov.

Russia defeated Serbia 3-2 in the only other Davis Cup meeting between these two teams, a 2008 World Group first-round tie in Moscow.

GERMANY 1, BELGIUM 1

Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, Germany (Indoor Hard)

Belgium may be the on-paper underdogs in this tie, but Steve Darcis showed they’re capable of winning this weekend by scoring a surprise 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) comeback victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber. Darcis needed just under four hours to complete the win.

#NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev leveled the tie for Germany with a far-less complicated 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Arthur De Greef. With Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff suffering from a stomach bug, it’s possible that Zverev could suit up for the doubles rubber with his brother Mischa Zverev.

Germany has won all eight previous match-ups against Belgium, most recently in 2007 with a 3-2 victory in the quarter-finals.

CANADA 1, GREAT BRITAIN 1

Venue: TD Place Arena, Ottawa, Canada (Indoor Hard)

Dan Evans scored his first victory in a live rubber by defeating Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. The Brit needed just one hour and 50 minutes to complete the victory.

Vasek Pospisil delighted the home crowd by leveling the tie at 1-1 with a 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(3) upset over Kyle Edmund. The Canadian caught fire at 4-4 in the opening set by winning eight of the next nine games. The doubles rubber on Saturday will prove to be critical in this tie as Jamie Murray/Dominic Inglot take on Daniel Nestor/Pospisil

UNITED STATES 2, SWITZERLAND 0

Venue: Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham, Alabama (Indoor Hard)

Jack Sock got Team USA off to an ideal start by winning the first rubber 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 over veteran Marco Chiudinelli. Sock hammered 12 aces and 29 winners to complete the victory in just under two hours.

John Isner brought the United States to a 2-0 lead by rallying from a set down to move past Henri Laaksonen 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(1)-. Isner fired 28 aces and no double faults to finish off a solid day for the American squad.

Steve Johnson/Sam Querrey will look to wrap up the tie for on Saturday when they take on Adrien Bossel/Antoine Bellier.

 

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