The freshly shaven-headed Serbia team celebrate their Davis Cup victory. Photograph: Ivan Milutinovic/Reuters Serbia celebrated their first Davis Cup title after Viktor Troicki defeated France's Michael Llodra to secure a memorable 3-2 victory at the Belgrade Arena tonight.
Chants of "Viktor" and "Serbia" reverberated around the imposing 17,000-capacity venue as Troicki, a late swap for the deciding rubber, won 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 against a powerless opponent who cracked under the pressure. Jubilant scenes followed Troicki's perfect backhand pass on match point as his team-mates stormed the court to swamp the 24-year-old before the players and the Serbian federation president, Slobodan Zivojinovic, sat down to have their heads shaved – a vow they made after their semi-final victory.
Even Niki Pilic got the razor treatment after he became the first person to coach three nations to the Davis Cup title, having also achieved it with Germany and Croatia. Pilic was drafted in three years ago to support the Serbia captain, Bogdan Obradovic.
"This is the most unbelievable moment of my life," Troicki said on court alongside Novak Djokovic, who won both his singles matches in the tie. "I am in shock. After the last shot I really couldn't believe that this happened," he told Sky Sports 4.
"I think for the next few days I will still feel a little bit different. It will be maybe five days until I will feel the real expression and the real feeling of this win. This is the most intense pressure ever in my life and to win it in front of my home crowd I think is the best possible way.
"I don't have any words, seriously. It's unbelievable. I don't have the words. It's historic. This is our biggest success as individuals, as a team, as a country."
There was just gloom, though, for France. Llodra slumped on his chair and was comforted by his captain, Guy Forget. "To be this close to our goal, it hurts. What is hard is that in both matches today we never caught a glimpse of victory. The other guy was better in every area," Forget said.
Serbia began the day 2-1 in arrears against the nine-time champions after losing the doubles rubber yesterday, but first Djokovic pummelled Gaël Monfils 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to level the tie, before Troicki finished the job.
After claiming the first set with ease Troicki went 2-0 down in the second but reeled off eight consecutive games to a background of beating drums and chanting. Llodra broke serve to close to 3-4 in the third set but Troicki, with Djokovic and the rest of his team willing him on at courtside, held his nerve. A weak Llodra volley brought up two match points and the party could start in earnest when Troicki fired a backhand winner past the Frenchman.
No comments:
Post a Comment