There was plenty of suspense and intrigue as to why Novak Djokovic did not make the long trip to India for the Davis Cup World Group play-off
Bogdan Obradovic
Bangalore: There was plenty of suspense and intrigue as to why Novak Djokovic did not make the long trip to India for the Davis Cup World Group play-off.
Bogdan Obradovic
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It was unfolding like a taut Alfred Hitchcock thriller. The saga didn't end there as there were conflicting reports from the Serbian camp and the World No 1.
Just last week, it was announced that he would be a part of the touring team. But Djoko later surprisingly withdrew due to 'fatigue'.
The Serbian Davis Cup captain Bogdan Obradovic stressed at the KSLTA stadium yesterday that Djokovic was never a certainty. "It was a 60-40 chance.
We did include him in the team but knew there was a chance he may pull out at the last minute. He is going through a lot of stress as his pregnant wife Jelena is due to next month.''
The Nishikori factor also played a part in Djokovic's late withdrawal. "You could see he was clearly struggling against the Japanese in the US Open semi-final. He committed an unusual number of unforced errors. The searing heat and humidity of New York took its toll on Novak,'' elaborated Obradovic.
Obradovic rated Serbia's chances of remaining in the elite World Group as pretty high. "We would have been stronger if Novak played, no doubt about that. However, we have two youngsters in Dusan Lajovic and Filip Krajinovic who have been performing admirably on the ATP Tour.
Ilija Bozoljac is a fine singles player and he can also play doubles which bodes well for us. Of course I am expecting a very difficult tie as India have home court advantage and it is difficult to play in the heat and altitude of Bangalore,'' signed off the affable Serb.
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