Nadia and I attended the Serbia versus Argentina Davis Cup Tennis match at the Belgrade Arena yesterday. On Friday, Argentina won both of the singles matches and could have won the best-of-five competition with another win.
The second day of the competition is the doubles match. Serbia featured Nenad Zimojnic, one of the best doubles players in the world and his partner, the up-and-coming world number 16 Victor Troiki. They were up against the world #23 Juan Chela and world #27 Juan Monaco. Serbia won in straight sets 3-0 to keep Serbia in the competition.
Serbia has to win both matches today. In the photo above are the key players and the Davis Cup trophy. On the far right is Novak Djokovic, who did not play on Friday due to an injury. He will play tomorrow and if his season continues like it has been (65-2), he will probably win against Del Potro, the world #17 and former US Open Champion. He is still not listed as playing, but he was practicing on the court right after yesterday’s match. He looked fit and ready to go.
In the other singles match, it will probably be Janko Tipsarevic (world #13) going against David Nalbandian (world #74). This will be the deciding match. Nalbandian, although he has a low ranking, beat Viktor Troiki on Friday and will be a challenge for Tipsarevic.
I am predicting a Serbian victory tomorrow. If they do win, they will most likely host Spain, who is leading France 2-1 in the other Davis Cup semifinal. It would be great to see Novak against Rafa that first week of December to end the season. I would also like to thank my friend Angelo for the tickets!
On a side note, Serbian President Boris Tadić arrived right after we did and stood near the tunnel, about 20 feet away from us, and watched the entire match (see photo below). There was a bit of controversy after the second set. The Serbian doubles team ran to the locker room between sets. As Nenad Zimojnic was jogging towards the tunnel, he accidently bumped into the President. When his partner Victor Troiki followed, one of the body guards grabbed Troiki and gave him a rough bear hug. He then let go and eventually, President Tadic had a word with both the Serbian players when they left the tunnel, wishing them luck. It was like a soap opera which Nadia and I enjoyed watching.
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