Tipsarevic to kick off Serbia’s Davis Cup hopes
Originally published on: 02/12/10 16:34
Janko Tipsarevic has been selected ahead of the higher ranked Viktor Troicki to kick off Serbia’s hopes of an historic first Davis Cup title against world No.12 Gael Monfils on Friday.
The world No.49 could play an even bigger role for his nation if the tie goes down the final singles match if he is selected for the reveserve singles rubbers on Sunday.
Monfils, who is hoping to spearhead France to their 10th Davis Cup, believes that this decision will play into the French team’s hands – a nervy Tipsarevic playing in front of a packed home crowd at the Belgrade Arena.
“I know Janko,” said Monfils. “He will be very nervous because he plans to come out first on the court in front of the Serbian crowd. It will be tough for him. I will try to be very relaxed and just play my game.”
“If he thinks I’ll be more nervous than him in front of 18,000 Serb supporters, he’s dead wrong,” replied Tipsarevic, who won both his singles rubbers in Serbia’s 3-2 semi-final victory over the Czech Republic.
Gilles Simon has been given the nod ahead of French No.2 Michael Llodra, denying the 30-year-old a rematch with Djokovic after defeating the world No.3 at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris last month.
“It’s always a tough choice to choose someone because you let someone down, said French captain Guy Forget, who sees Llodra playing a significant role in the doubles.
“I expect Gilles to play a great match against Novak. I expect Michael to play great doubles with Arnaud [Clement]. They’ve done so many times in the past.”
Clement and Llodra, who secured France’s spot in the final, will take on Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic, who have not played together since their nation’s defeat to Spain in the first round last year, on what could be a decisive doubles on Sunday.
“In my opinion, that was the best choice for the French team,” said Forget. “The Sunday matches probably will count. That leaves me probably some more options doing it this way.”
Full draw for the Davis Cup Final
Friday (play starts at 13:00 GMT)
R1 – Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v Gael Monfils (FRA)
R2- Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Gilles Simon (FRA)
Saturday (play starts at 12:00 GMT)
R3 – Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) v Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra (FRA)
Sunday (play starts at 15:00; 14:00 GMT)
R4 – Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Gael Monfils (FRA)
R5 – Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v Gilles Simon (FRA)
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