PARIS (AFP) - Novak Djokovic sped past Austria's Dennis Novak to give Serbia an unassailable 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup opening match at Innsbruck on Friday (Nov 26). Djokovic took an hour to beat Novak 6-3, 6-2 after Dusan Lajovic saw off Gerald Melzer 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 behind closed doors due to a resurgence of the coronavirus in Austria. Djokovic is attempting to end an already memorable year on a high after claiming thee of the season's four Grand Slams. Elsewhere Italy were leading the United States in Turin and Spain were ahead of Ecuador in Madrid. Backed by a hearty home crowd Italy raced into a 2-0 lead over the States thanks to wins from Lorenzo Sonego and Jannik Sinner. Sonego, the world No.27, was ecstatic. "I played the best tennis of my life," he claimed after seeing off Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Sinner then pulverised a static John Isner 6-2, 6-0 in 62 minutes. In the doubles rubber Simone Bolleli and Fabio Fognini will play Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock while Colombia are the third team in Group E. The 40-year-old Feliciano López opened Spain's title defence with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roberto Quiroz of Ecuador. "It's a gift to be back here playing the singles rubbers, I never expected it, I was supposed to play in the doubles but after everything that happened this week here I am." "I think I did okay," he said, referring to the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, who went into quarantine on Thursday after testing positive for Covid-19. On the opening day of the revamped 2021 finals brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer helped Sweden sweep aside Canada, France fought back to down the Czech Republic and Croatia crushed Australia. The Davis Cup, which began life back in 1900 as a bilateral contest between Britain and the United States, was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year's competition sees 12 qualifiers - Australia, Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Sweden and USA - joined by the previous edition's semi-finalists - Spain, Canada, Great Britain and the Russian Tennis Federation. These are joined by two wild card nations France and Serbia. These 18 nations are divided into six groups of three, with winners and the top pair of second places going into the quarter-finals pot. The semi-finals and December 5 final will all be played in the Spanish capital, reward for the team that won the title two years ago after 2020 was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
PARIS (AFP) - Novak Djokovic, making his return to the court at the Paris Masters, seven weeks after losing the US Open final, picked up a doubles win on Monday (Nov 1), on the eve of his singles debut. Djokovic and Serbian compatriot Filip Krajinovic needed a super tie-break to beat Australians Alex de Minaur and Luke Saville 4-6, 6-4, 10/7, in front of a packed Bercy arena. "I've never played in front of so many people for a doubles match, it's incredible," said the world No. 1, whose last doubles match was in Mallorca in June when he and Carlos Gomez-Herrera won their semi-final. They then withdrew from the final because the Spaniard had injured an ankle. In his first singles match on Tuesday, Djokovic will face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5) on Monday. Djokovic had not played since his dream of winning a calendar Grand Slam was shattered in the US Open final in mid-September by Russian Daniil Medvedev. "It's been a very trying season, but it's not over," he said. "I'm very proud of the way I played in the Grand Slams this year, I didn't end up with the trophy in New York, but there are a lot of things I can be happy about." Djokovic lost his first service game on a double fault, and surprisingly allowed Krajinovic to defend when the Australians had a set point, which they won. The 34-year-old Djokovic, who sought support from the crowd on several occasions, began to find some intensity early in the second set and improved as the match went on and he reacted with a roar of joy when he and Krajonovic clinched the second set. "It's a privilege to play with Novak", Krajinovic said. "A very good friend and my idol." More on this topic Related Story Tennis: 'Proud' Norrie overwhelms Delbonis at Paris Masters Related Story Tennis: Djokovic will need to be vaccinated to play Australian Open, says minister
TORONTO, CANADA (AFP) - World number one Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for Olympic gold in the Tokyo Games men's tennis tournament, has withdrawn from next month's ATP Toronto event. Organisers alluded to Djokovic's hectic schedule which includes the Olympics and his pursuit of a calendar Golden Grand Slam. The Serb is chasing history after victories at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He is seeking to emulate Steffi Graf's unrivalled achievement from 1988 when she swept all four majors and took gold in the women's singles in Seoul. "It would have been fantastic to have hosted Novak (Djokovic)," said Toronto tournament spokesman Karl Hale. "However, following a great run to his record-equaling 20th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and his participation at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, we understand his decision. We wish him all the very best for the rest of the season." Hale also said No. 6 Dominic Thiem, No. 20 David Goffin and No. 29 Stan Wawrinka have also withdrawn from the main draw. Thiem is recovering from a wrist injury he suffered at the Mallorca Championships in Spain last month. Goffin has an ankle injury and Wawrinka recently underwent foot surgery. More on this topic Related Story Olympics: Golden Slam-chasing Djokovic, Osaka top Tokyo 2020 tennis bill Related Story Tennis: Novak Djokovic keeps iron grip on number one ranking
PARIS (AFP) - World number one Novak Djokovic said on Thursday (July 15) he will play at the Tokyo Olympics, paving the way for the first Golden Grand Slam by a male player. "I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics," tweeted Djokovic. The Serb has already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year and needs just Olympic gold and the US Open to become the first man to sweep the Golden Grand Slam. The 34-year-old's announcement came just four days after he had cast doubt on his participation at the Games. Having defeated Matteo Berrettini for a sixth Wimbledon title and 20th career Grand Slam crown on Sunday, Djokovic admitted he had cooled on making the trip, saying it was "50/50" if he would participate. "I'll have to think about it. As I said, my plan was always to go to the Olympic Games. "But right now I'm a little bit divided. It's kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple of days," said Djokovic at the All England Club. The Serb had always insisted he would think twice if the Covid-19 protocols in Japan became too strict and if fans were banned. All venues at the Games, which start on July 23, will be closed to spectators as the Japanese authorities look to limit the dangers of Covid-19. Foreign visitors had already been barred as had family members of visiting athletes. More on this topic Related Story Tennis: Novak Djokovic keeps iron grip on number one ranking Related Story Tennis: Novak Djokovic is a Grand Slam warrior in battle to be people's champion "That was really disappointing to hear. I also hear that there's going to be a lot of restrictions within the Village," said Djokovic. "Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live. "I can't even have my stringer that is a very important part of my team. I'm limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well. I'll have to think about it." Fellow Grand Slam title winners Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Dominic Thiem and Angelique Kerber have all withdrawn from the Games. More on this topic Related Story Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon, claims 20th Grand Slam title Related Story Tennis: 'Little bit divided' Djokovic says '50/50' over Olympics
PARIS (AFP) - Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic made it 329 weeks as world number one after collecting his third Grand Slam title of the year, when the new ATP rankings were released on Monday (July 12). Djokovic, who has already pocketed the Australian and French Opens as well as Wimbledon, is almost 2,000 points ahead of Daniil Medvedev who remains at number two. Matteo Berrettini, who lost Sunday's Wimbledon final to the Serb, moves up one place to eighth while Roger Federer, who has spent 310 weeks at number one in the past, dropped a place to nine. Hubert Hurcacz, who beat Federer and became the first Pole to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, climbed seven places from 18 to 11. Two Canadians were also on the rise with 20-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, going up four places to 15th while Denis Shapovalov edged into the top 10 after succumbing to Djokovic in the semifinals at the All-England Club. More on this topic Related Story Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon, claims 20th Grand Slam title Related Story Tennis: 'Little bit divided' Djokovic says '50/50' over Olympics
LONDON (AFP) - Novak Djokovic cooled on his commitment to the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday (July 11) saying it was "50/50" if he would participate. "I'll have to think about it. As I said, my plan was always to go to the Olympic Games. "But right now I'm a little bit divided. It's kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple of days," said Djokovic. The world number one was speaking after he claimed a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title and sixth Wimbledon with a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Italy's Matteo Berrettini. The Serb had always insisted he would think twice if the Covid-19 protocols in Japan became too strict and if fans were banned. Two days ago, it was announced that even domestic fans will be barred from all venues. Foreign visitors had already been barred as had family members of visiting athletes. "That was really disappointing to hear. I also hear that there's going to be a lot of restrictions within the Village," said Djokovic. "Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live. "I can't even have my stringer that is a very important part of my team. I'm limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well. I'll have to think about it." Fellow stars Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Dominic Thiem have already said they will not take part in the Olympics while Roger Federer has remarked he remains in two minds. More on this topic Related Story Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon, claims 20th Grand Slam title Related Story Tennis: Djokovic and Federer named for Olympics