World number one Novak Djokovic confirmed Serbia’s victory over Austria, while Feliciano Lopez got Spain off to a good start, and the young Italian side took the lead against the United States. and their 32 Davis Cup titles in the tournament finals on Friday.
Djokovic easily got the better of Dennis Novak, 6-3, 6-2, to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over the host team in Innsbruck. His teammate Dusan Lajovic had earlier defeated Gerald Melzer in three sets in the opener of this two-of-three Group F series.
With the win, Djokovic extended his Davis Cup singles winning streak to 15.
“It’s very nice to play for Serbia again,” commented Djokovic, who contributed to his country’s title in 2010 but failed to win a singles or doubles medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s been a long year, but you always find motivation when you play for your country,” he said, adding that he appreciated the way he ended the match.
Djokovic was also due to play in doubles, in the event of a tie, but he eventually gave way to teammate Nikola Cacic following his victory.
Spain without complexes
No Rafael Nadal. No Carlo Alcaraz. No problem for defending champions Spain so far in the Davis Cup finals.
40-year-old Feliciano Lopez gave Spain a 1-0 lead over Ecuador in Group A with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roberto Quiroz at home in Madrid. Then Pablo Carreno Busta beat Emilio Gomez 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
The United States, meanwhile, had a rough start against Italy, in Turin, where Lorenzo Sonego defeated Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (4) in his hometown, in Group E. Jannik. Sinner then showed dominance against John Isner, defeated 6-2, 6-0, to seal the outcome of the confrontation before the double.
The Americans won the doubles duel, however, when Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock defeated Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Lopez found himself in the thick of the singles action when Alcaraz, champion of the Next Gen ATP Finals, tested positive for the coronavirus and was sidelined from the Spanish squad on Thursday. Nadal is not playing due to a left foot injury that ended his season.
Roberto Bautista Agut, 19e A world player, having also left the Spain squad earlier this week with an abdominal injury, Lopez has been selected to play in the opener.
Lopez, who was previously ranked 12e rank, slipped out of the top 100 in singles and doubles. His playing career stretches so long that he has already started his post-career, having been appointed director of the Madrid tournament.
“I still have a passion for the game. It’s obvious,” said Lopez. I was waiting for an opportunity like this. I wasn’t expecting to play, but a lot has happened this week. … I ended up playing a great game. ”
Opelka, a formidable server, for his part committed a double fault to offer Sonego the only breakage of the match. Then he made a few more mistakes in the tiebreaker as the Italian ended the game with a winning volley on his first match point.