Djokovic Leads Serbia to Davis Cup Victory Over Spain

Maybe playing Davis Cup was not such a bad idea for Djokovic after all. On Friday he won his singles match against Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and had a good serving day. Ramos-Vinolas is currently at a career high ranking of 24 after having some good results on the South-American clay court swing this year.

The match was played on indoor hard which doesn’t suit the Spaniard’s game but the fact that it was Davis Cup will give Djokovic a boost I think. I didn’t think it made much sense for him to play this weekend with his chronic elbow problem especially since it was on hard courts just before the clay court season.

But since Troicki won his singles match against Carreno Busta and his doubles match with Zimonjic today as well it means Serbia won the rubber 3-0 and Djokovic doesn’t have to play another singles match tomorrow.

He is written in to play the second singles on the Davis Cup website but according to his own website, his next match will be in Monte Carlo. And according to a Nole fan on Twitter, his personal website is always up to date so I’m gonna assume he made the right decision.

We will only know for sure whether the risk was worth taking if Djokovic stays injury free for at least the clay and grass court season but historically Djokovic has had some good results after winning in Davis Cup.

None less so than in 2010 when Serbia won the Davis Cup which triggered Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak in 2011 which put him 5th on the open era list and still ahead of any of the big four as far as winning streaks go.

I think he took a risk by playing Davis Cup just like he took a risk by playing Acapulco but things fell into place in the sense that he only had to play one singles match and after the match, he sounded optimistic:

“Overall, I’m very happy with my performance and it’s very encouraging because I now know I am on the right path to rediscovering my best form,” Djokovic told a news conference.

“It is no secret that I haven’t been at my best in the last few months. I have lost my momentum but today’s display has convinced me that I can get back to winning ways.

“I served really well against an opponent who can be awkward if given time to tee himself up for his shots. So I tried not to give him any.”

Djokovic also has another week before Monte Carlo now in which he can train on clay and rest his elbow some more. Maybe Davis Cup came at an opportune moment for him just before a very important clay court season because he seems to draw inspiration from it.

It’s been nothing short of a depressing season for him and his fans where nothing is going his way. He needs something to get his season kickstarted and change his luck. Maybe this was it. Time will tell…

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