Article Written By: Nicholas Djordjevic
Germany and Switzerland have come away with solid wins today against Spain and Serbia respectively in the first round of the Davis Cup. Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber fought gallantly in mens doubles to overcome Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 7-6 (7), 6-3 in 3 hours and 25 minutes in Frankfurt, advancing Germany to the Quarterfinals against France. The win was also the nation’s first win over Spain since 1994. France will be hosting the Germans on April 4th, whom they have not lost to since 1938, incredibly.
“It couldn’t have gone any better. I’m very happy I was able to be here, ” Haas said post-match, “We’re all happy and already a little bit drunk.”
The Spaniards, like the Serbs, lacked their big name hitters to help secure a successful run. Top five’s, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer were absent from the tournament, resting after their strong runs at the Australian Open earlier last month.
In Novi Sad, Roger Federer’s commitment to a late return to Davis Cup participation saw him breeze past Ilija Bozoljac of team Serbia, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in under two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served impressively but still was no match for his former world number one opponent.
The second-ranked Novak Djokovic opted to rest after his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the Australian Open quarterfinal. Other Serbian powerhouses that were unable to assist included Janko Tipsarevic who sat out nursing a heel injury and Viktor Troicki, who is serving a 12-month doping ban for failing to appear at a test.
Wawrinka took the first set against world number 102 Dusan Lajovic, but was in trouble in the second as the Serbian leveled. However, ultimately the new Swiss number one raced through the third set, en route to capturing the match.
“All that is left is to reorganize and fight to stay in the World Group,” said Serbian Head Coach Bogdan Obradovic. He went on to say that he hoped his country’s top players will be back next year.
Next up, the quarter finals where the Swiss gang will challenge the might of the French including Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Germany shall lock into battle with either Belgium or Kazakhstan.