Novak Djokovic’s Serbia fail to progress to the final of the Davis Cup

Tennis News
Novak Djokovic looking ahead

Novak Djokovic’s Serbia crashed out of the Davis Cup as they failed to beat Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic – the world No 1 doubles pairing from Croatia – in the doubles rubber.

This means that Croatia go through to the final on Sunday in Madrid and will face either Russia or Germany.

The Croatians were early favourites in the match after coming through a tight first set which put Djokovic and his doubles partner Filip Krajinovic on the back foot.

This proved to be too tough a task for the Serbian duo as they lost 7-5, 6-1 and helped Croatia wrap up a 2-1 win.

There was a little bit of hope before this match that Djokovic would be able to secure his team a place in the final after he won the second singles rubber 6-4, 6-2 against Marin Cilic but it wasn’t meant to be.

This ends a disappointing run for the 20-time Grand Slam winner, not only did he miss out on a win at the US Open at Flushing Meadows earlier this year, he also lost his semi-final at the ATP Tour finals.

However, Djokovic has no regrets from this season and he hopes to learn from it.

Spain Davis Cup Tennis
Novak Djokovic and team-mate Filip Krajnovic came up short (Bernat Armangue/AP)

“I gave my best for the national team, there is extra meaning and importance for me, and unfortunately it wasn’t to be this time,” Djokovic said.

“One singles win is not enough. This kind of competition is cruel in a way because it requires you to win every single match that you play, or every single set.

“I don’t regret anything in life. I try to draw lessons from tough moments like this – as much as it hurts me personally and as a team, these are usually the biggest opportunities to get stronger, to grow and to develop as a person and a player.”

Filip Krajinovic Novak Djokovic

Latest