World no.2 Novak Djokovic and 34th ranked Dusan Lajovic both powered their way to singles wins for Team Serbia on Saturday at the inaugural ATP Cup in Brisbane.
In the opening match, Dusan battled from a set down to defeat South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, giving Novak the opportunity to clinch their ATP Cup tie against Kevin Anderson.
Nole started with confidence against former world no.5 and broke early for 3-0, but Anderson broke back to force a tie-break. Novak won it 7-5 for a one-set lead.
We saw another tie-break in the second set, the 32-year-old Belgrade native closed it 8-6 to propel Serbia to first win at Pat Rafter Arena.
“I’m pretty pleased with my game. To be honest, considering the fact that he was playing at the very high level, I thought it was a fantastic match,” said Djokovic.
Novak now leads his ATP H2H series against Anderson 9-2.
Nikola Cacic/Viktor Troicki duo beat Raven Klaasen/Ruan Roelofse 6-3, 6-2.
Next rival for Serbia is France, on Monday, January 6. Lajovic will take on Benoit Paire (8:30 CET), followed by Novak vs Gael Monfils and the doubles match.
France outplayed Chile 2-1 earlier today.
Photo: AP
