Defending champion Serbia kicked-off their title defence at the ATP Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Canada in Melbourne Park. The tense encounter saw world No.1 Novak Djokovic play a vital role in his teams victory.
Raonic breezes by Lajovic
For someone who was stuck in hard quarantine for 14 days you really honestly couldn’t tell because Milos Raonic had no issues at all in his first match of 2021 as he eased to a 6-3, 6-4, win.
He got off to a great start with his massive serve and big forehand while Dusan Lajovic was doing everything he could to stay in the set and hold his serve. The first breakpoint didn’t occur until the seventh game when at 4-3 the Canadian forced the Serb to hit one of his many unforced errors.
Raonic would break as Lajovic would send another ball into the net to take a 5-3 lead and would serve out the first set to take it 6-3.
Into the second set the beginning was pretty similar to the first with both players doing a good job of holding serve. The Thornhill, Ontario native earned two early break points at 1-1 but Lajovic did an even better job saving them.
Raonic would earn an third thanks in large part to his backhand but once again the Serb was hanging on and would eventually hold serve. The Canadian had three more chances to break at 3-3 but was stymied but the number two Serb.
He earned a fourth opportunity when Lajovic sent another ball into the net and would finally get the break when the Serb made a second consecutive error.
Raonic served out the match to take it in 1 hour and 19 minutes to put the defending champs on the brink.
“I think I was sharp. I was there in a lot of return games. I kept putting pressure. I missed a few breakpoint opportunities but I kept sticking around and took care of my serve, which is always important,” Raonic said afterwards.
Djokovic survives Shapovalov
Next up on court were a clash of the the national number ones between Novak Djokovic and Denis Shapovalov with the world No.1 prevailing 7-5, 7-5.
The first set could not have been a tighter affair with both players going at it and it was looking like it was going to be a great match. There wasn’t a single breakpoint until 5-6 with Shapovalov serving to stay in the set and Djokovic managed to have two looks at a set point.
The Canadian would save the first one with a big ace out wide but on the second opportunity, the Belgrade native capitalized forcing the error from the world No.12 to take the first set 7-5.
The second set was much like the first meaning a great battle with Shapovalov looking to send the match into a deciding third set while Djokovic was looking to seal the victory and send the tie into a deciding doubles match.
The Nassau, Bahamas resident was under pressure early from the Serb facing early breakpoints but won a great point with a long rally which the world number one finally lost when he sent a ball wide.
It stayed on serve until 6-5 with the Canadian serving to stay in the match and once again made some untimely unforced errors and gave the world number one a match point.
He would finish the match with a brilliant down the line winner as Shapovalov was attacking the net to take the match and set up a deciding doubles showdown.
“It’s not a doubt that the level’s there. Obviously it wasn’t good enough today.”
Shapovalov
Serbia wins the deciding doubles
In the deciding doubles match it was Milos Raonic joining forces with Denis Shapovalov for Canada taking on the doubles pairing from Serbia of Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic.
Both teams did a good job holding serve and there was no break point until late in the set at 5-5 when the world number one came up with a great winner to set up three break points.
Canada would save the first one but on the second Shapovalov would send a ball into the net to give the break to Serbia for a chance to serve out the first set at 6-5.
Krajinovic did just that doing a great job with his serve and Serbia would take the first set 7-5. Unfortunately during the break Serbia called for the trainer and Krajinovic took a medical timeout to have the trainer work on his back.
The second set was even tighter than the first with Canada looking to force a match tiebreaker while Serbia was looking to close it out. The first breakpoint of the second set came at 3-3 when Djokovic came up with a great forehand winner.
Canada did a good job saving both and both teams managed to hold serve and the second set would be decided by a tiebreaker. The breaker was a total roller-coaster with both teams battling hard.
Serbia won the first three points then Canada would storm back and win the next three putting the breaker back on serve at 3-3. Canada gave up the crucial break at 4-4 when Raonic missed an easy volley and Serbia would serve it out to take the breaker 7-4.
“Filip Krajinovic was the key. The way he played today is phenomenal. He came out very solid returning. He found his serve, great rhythm. Just played some really key shots in the second set when we needed it the most,” said Djokovic.
Both teams will now face Germany with Canada getting the first crack while Serbia will face them later in the week. Only the group winner will advance to the semi finals.
