Viktor Troicki Sweeps Michael Llodra and Delivers Davis Cup To Serbia

Visit www.TennisNow.com for all your tennis needs.

To the Viktor, go the spoils.

Serbia's Viktor Troicki completed a magical Sunday for the central European nation by defeating France's Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in the rubber match of the Davis Cup Finals in Belgrade. 

Serbia entered the day trailing France 2-1, but got a big win from Novak Djokovic over Gilles Simon to force the best-of-five to a final match. Once there, the 30th-ranked Troicki dominated the 23rd-ranked Llodra, breaking him a staggering eight times in 14 opportunities and scoring 58 winners to just 32 for the Frenchman.

Troicki was particularly lethal at the net, winning 13 of 15 points, and although he trailed Llodra in aces (5-2) and made 10 more errors (36-26), his opportunistic play and the overwhelming home court advantage paved the way for the Serbs to win their first Davis Cup crown for the first time ever. Serbia's long road to the title began when the draw was held in Geneva in September of 2009. 

Despite being unseeded, the Serbs made a huge splash when they upset the third-seeded United States 3-2 in Belgrade in early March indoors on clay. The Cinderella continued four months later in Croatia as they took down the sixth seed 4-1. In late September, just two weeks after Djokovic reached the finals of the US Open, he helped Serbia to a gut-wrenching 3-2 win over the second-seeded Czech Republic in Belgrade to advance to the finals. 

France was also a surprising finalist, unseeded at the start of the tournament. The French beat eighth-seeded Germany 4-1, top-seeded France 5-0 and fifth-seeded Argentina 5-0 to enter the finals as the definitive favorite. On Friday, France drew first blood when Gael Monfils swept Janko Tipsarevic, but Djokovic's win over Gilles SImon evened the score. 

The French took a hard-fought 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 doubles point to move to the cusp of the title before Djokovic and Troicki pulled out their late heroics. France was seeking its 10th title in the event, which would have moved the French ahead of Great Britain into third place overall. Instead, the French finished as the runner-up for the seventh time, fourth most among any country. 

It was Serbia's first trip to the final. The Serbs did not start participating in the Davis Cup until 2007, and previously had never made it past the World-Group Playoffs, losing to Spain in 2009 and Russia in 2008. Serbia's defense of the title will begin March 4-6, 2011 when the Serbs host India. 

Visit www.TennisNow.com for all your tennis needs.