Novak Djokovic stepped out onto the courts in Belgrade to play doubles in the 2024 Davis Cup World Group I tie, and he won that match together with Hamad Medjedovic.
Serbia is hosting Greece this weekend in Belgrade in a tie that was hugely important for both teams. It was supposed to be a clash between Djokovic-led Serbia and Greece-led Stefanos Tsitsipas, but it didn't happen as Tsitsipas pulled out from the tie.
Djokovic did not, however, as he took the chance to get back home and wash away the disappointment from the US Open, where Alexei Popyrin shockingly beat him. It wasn't a good outing for the 37-year-old in New York, who admitted afterward that he wasn't well prepared.
Getting a chance to play for Serbia again was a huge boost for him because events in which he can represent his country are his favorite. He showed it in his first match, beating his opponent without any problems.
Serbia was able to win both singles matches on Saturday, going up 2-0 after the first day. On day two, Djokovic stepped out for doubles, partnering with young talent Medjedovic, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah last year.
They were facing Aristotelis Thanos and Petros Tsitsipas. The younger Tsitsipas is a solid doubles player, as he won an ATP trophy last year with his brother in Antwerp, but this matchup wasn't going well for them.
They were outmatched and playing in Serbia, as Djokovic and Medjedovic enjoyed the home support. The opening set was a fair 6-3 win from the Serbian player, who seemed to be in control of the match.
It was competitive for the most part, but the problem for the Greeks was the serve. They hit their first serve only 48% of the time, and that was not good enough, not in doubles and not when facing Djokovic.
They had major problems on the second serve, losing their serve twice. They did manage to break their opponents once as well, but without the serve, it couldn't work out for the Greek pairing.
In the second set, they did much better, and immediately, it was much harder for the Serbians to create any kind of pressure. The Greeks actually created some pressure at 4-3 in the second set, getting to a couple of break points and breaking to make it 5-3.
They then held serve easily to win the second set 6-3, and the match was heading into a deciding set. Serving better in the second set made all the difference, but the Greeks also played better in the crucial moments.
The Greeks would need all of that again in the decider to win. Djokovic and Medjedovic had a really good chance to break early in the final set, but they didn't, allowing the Greeks to stabilize a bit.
Djokovic was keen to win this match as he wouldn't have to play singles after that, but it proved quite tougher than he thought it would be. Despite not serving as well, the Greeks hung around, even though they couldn't touch the Serbians on their serve.
More break chances came at 4-3 for the Serbian, and this time around, they broke to take a 5-3 lead, after which they closed out the third set, winning it 6-3, and the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to secure their country's win in this Davis Cup tie.
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