Novak Djokovic wants to win another Davis Cup trophy, and team captain Viktor Troicki hopes to help him achieve this goal.
The 34-year-old Serbian already has one Davis Cup title in his collection, winning it in 2010, when Serbia bested France in an epic final in Belgrade, coming back from 1-2 deficit.
And it was the duo of Djokovic and Troicki, who delivered the last two crucial points. First, Djokovic dominated against Gael Monfils, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, and in the deciding match of the final tie, Troicki was able to show the same level of dominance against Michael Llodra, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Now, 12 years later, in a recent interview with Ubitennis, Troicki talked about the Davis Cup as Serbia was drawn with Spain in the group stage event that will be played in Valencia.
Troicki was a player when Serbia lifted the trophy now over 10 years ago, and he remembers that triumph, but now, he works as the team captain, trying to lead the Serbian team to another win.
"Hopefully there are going to be a few more coming! But now as a captain. Not anymore as a player. When you have Novak (Djokovic) in the team, the chances are pretty high."
"Now we have (Miomir) Kecmanovic who is playing very well, and there are also (Filip) Krajinovic and (Laslo) Djere. We have a really good team and I think we can go far this year."
Troicki also touched upon the popularity of tennis in the country, which has exploded ever since Djokovic started winning one Grand Slam title after another, as well as because of the success of the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.
"Tennis is really popular. It’s one of the most popular sports in Serbia. People love to watch it and love to play it. They’ve really followed tennis since Novak, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, and also Zimonjic in the doubles, became number one in the world. Novak is absolutely the hero and the best athlete ever of Serbia, so people really love and enjoy tennis."
Troicki also spoke about the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade, which aims to become one of the most modern facilities in the world, and with Djokovic's backing, it certainly can.
"Right now we have thirteen courts, but we are going to have some corrections. We are planning to have some indoor courts and we are going to lose some courts. But we are also going to extend the land we’ve got to make some other courts. In total we’re looking to have around 15 courts we can use all year during the winter and the summer."
"It’s going to be one of the best centres in this region of the world. We’re trying to bring up players to raise the interest for tennis and bring more competitors. After tennis was very popular in 2010 and 2011 there was a slight decrease, so we are trying to get as many players as we can."
"We have really good players here in the centre who are among the best of their age in Serbia and across Europe. We’re really looking to attract as many good players as possible to have a base here and to train them."