Serbia will face Britain in the final round of the Davis Cup Finals on Thursday, led by Novak Djokovic, who won three Grand Slams this year.
“It’s the last week of the season so one final push is necessary from each one of us, and I’m excited because I have been playing some really good tennis, particularly in the last four months of the season,” said Djokovic, who won a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title on Sunday. Also read: Wimbledon’s Grand Vision: A New Stadium and 38 Courts
Djokovic’s previous Davis Cup loss came in a full singles match in 2009. He is tied for the most Davis Cup match victories by a Serbian player alongside Nenad Zimonji. In 2010, Djokovic helped Serbia win their first Davis Cup title.
Djokovic has a 20-match winning run in Davis Cup singles matches dating back to a quarterfinal loss to Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in 2011 that he had to forfeit due to injury.
“I started training right away, because obviously there is not much time to really leave the racquet aside,” he said. “Davis Cup has been and is one of my greatest goals of this season and always is. Hopefully I will be able to contribute to win.” Also read: Reaching New Heights: Veronika Kudermetova Claims Second Title at Toray Pan Pacific Open
“Great Britain is one of the greatest tennis nations out there and a very strong team in this format,” Djokovic said. “We are a team that don’t have any doubles specialists. We rely on singles, but if it comes to doubles, we are also ready to pair up in the different combinations and give it all.”
Britain will face Serbia in the Davis Cup final without Andy Murray and Dan Evans due to injury. The British will be headed by No. 18 Cameron Norrie and No. 60 Jack Draper as they attempt to reach the semifinals for the first time in four years. The doubles will be played by Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury. Also read: ATP Finals: Novak Djokovic Won His Seventh ATP Finals Championship