Madrid, Nov 25: Novak Djokovic announced his arrival at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga with a victory that secured Serbia a semifinal clash against Italy.
The world No.1 won his 40th Davis Cup singles match with a 6-4 6-4 Win over Britain’s Cameron Norrie, paving the way for another meeting with Italy’s Jannik Sinner on Saturday, less than a week after the two contested the championship match at the ATP Finals in Turin, reports ‘daviscup.com‘.
Djokovic appeared to be suffering from a cold, using a tissue to wipe his nose between points, yet he still produced a performance of immaculate quality and precision with his laser-like forehand firing as he found a way past a battling Norrie.
Djokovic broke the Norrie serve at 3-2 in the first set and closed it out despite being distracted by a disruptive fan.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Djokovic breaking in the opening game; he didn’t face a break point at any time in the match as he sealed the victory in one hour and 41 minutes.
This win extended Djokovic’s unbeaten run in Davis Cup singles matches to 21 and, remarkably, the 36-year-old has not lost a competitive singles match in the competition since March 2009.
“Cameron Norrie is a great player and he battled hard out there,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I haven’t played too many left handers lately, so it is great to finish off the job.
“Playing for your country is always the greatest pressure and motivation. After a long season, we can feel it in the legs.
“Now we play Italy. They are a very strong nation. We are going to fight and leave it all out on the court.”
Djokovic wrapped up the win for Serbia after a classy performance from Miomir Kecmanovic, who beat Jack Draper 7-6(2) 7-6(6) in a keenly contested opening match.