Novak Djokovic`s first outing since he won the Wimbledon crown ended in disappointment when he failed to earn Davis Cup champions Serbia the winning point.
|Last Updated: Jul 09, 2011, 11:15 PM IST|Source: Bureau
London: Novak Djokovic`s first outing since he won the Wimbledon crown ended in disappointment when he and Nenad Zimonjic failed to earn Davis Cup champions Serbia the winning point in their quarter-final tie against Sweden on Saturday.
Six days after conquering the All England Club, world number one Djokovic would have fancied his chances of wrapping up the tie for Serbia as his team mates had won both of the opening singles.
However, Djokovic, who sat out Friday`s action with a knee niggle, and Zimonjic stumbled and stuttered to a 6-4, 7-6, 7-5 defeat by Simon Aspelin and Robert Lindstedt in Halmstad.
Serbia will now hope Djokovic will be back in action on Sunday as they need to win one of the two reverse singles if they are to keep alive their chances of defending their title.
In Stuttgart, France secured their passage into the last four when Michael Llodra and Jo Wilfried Tsonga eased past Germany`s Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 to give the nine-times champions an unbeatable 3-0 lead.
"I knew the tie was going to be close and difficult, even though we`ve won by Saturday night - all the matches were really tight, and I`m really glad the French players took it so seriously and played with a lot of heart," France captain Guy Forget told reporters.
In the semi-finals, which will take place in September, France will face either Spain or the United States.
Despite the absence of Rafa Nadal, Spain appear to be in pole position to secure their place in the last four as they hold a 2-0 lead in the tie in Texas.In the only tie to feature two nations who have never won the team event, Argentina have already thumped Kazakhstan 5-0, with Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio Chela finishing off the whitewash with wins in the reverse singles on Saturday.
The tie in Buenos Aires was being held from Thursday to Saturday due to municipal elections in Argentina on Sunday.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.