Novak Djokovic picked up where he left off five days ago at the US Open final, with the US Open winner sending Serbia into the Davis Cup Finals on Friday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion barely paused for breath after his Sunday triumph in New York, posting a 6-3 6-4 victory over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to dismiss the hosts in Valencia.
The Spanish-run Davis Cup is on its last legs after organisers went bust three years after turning the prestigious international team competition into a tennis laughing stock by eliminating the fabled home-and-away concept which admittedly drove attendance.
The ITF is still pondering the loss of what had been promised as billions in profits after the next decades and must go back to the drawing board after the competition was dismantled by football-centric organising bosses.
Djokovic hardly ever misses the call for national competition and was happy to front up in Spain for the event, with the tie played to paltry crowd of 6,000.
“I’m on cloud nine with everything that has happened recently on the tennis court,” the 36-year-old said,
“Playing for Serbia, for my country, is something completely different.
“It’s a huge responsibility and pressure, but it’s also a privilege and an honour.”
The nation moved into early command through Laslo Djere, who beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 6-4.
Spain are missing world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, dumped out by Djokovic in a straight-set US open final
