by Craig Hickman
ReutersSerbia's team captain
Bogdan Obradovic and members
Nenad Zimonjic,
Novak Djokovic,
Janko Tipsarevic and
Viktor Troicki (L-R) raise up the Davis Cup trophy in Belgrade December 5, 2010.
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Relative to other tennis powerhouses, Serbian tennis remains underfunded. Still, the nation just won its first Davis Cup on the strings of unheralded
Viktor Troicki.
It can thank
Guy Forget, the coach of France's team, for a bit assist. Not that I didn't think
Michael Llodra wouldn't make an intriguing choice in the final rubber. But his 30-year-old body didn't recover from yesterday's doubles marathon, and that was clear from the first point.
As someone tweeted, this tie was ultimately decided in the locker room this morning.
Amélie Mauresmo was not pleased.
GettyBut make no mistake. Troicki earned his nation's victory with remarkable returns of serve, and viciously dipping passing shots that simply defied logic.
GettyHe got the chance to secure victory on the strength of
Novak Djokovic's play against
Gael Monfils in the day's first match. (Monfils needs to rein in himself. He has zero on-court discipline. And I mean
zero.)
Getty
GettyIn the end, it was too easy. I had hoped for a more competitive final match of 2010, and perhaps with
Gilles Simon, a counterpuncher who fights to the finish, the match may have featured a more compelling scoreline even if the result remained the same.
We'll never know.
What we do know is that Serbia becomes the 13th nation to win the Davis Cup and only the second in history to prevail in its final debut. Interestingly, Croatia was the first back in 2005.
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
GettySerbian President
Boris Tadic gestures.
Getty
Getty