Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Serbia team for the ATP Cup in Sydney, event organisers said on Wednesday, raising further doubts over whether the world number one will defend his Australian Open title next month.
World number one Novak Djokovic overpowered Dennis Novak after Dusan Lajovic battled past Gerald Melzer and Serbia went on to a 3-0 win in their opener against Group F hosts Austria in the Davis Cup Finals in Innsbruck on Friday.
Yuki Bhambri will open India's Davis Cup campaign against Serbia, drawn against visiting side's No 2 player Dusan Lajovic for the first singles match of the World Group playoff tie, beginning in Bangalore on Friday.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be out to complete unfinished business at Wimbledon on Thursday after both were denied a chance to savour match-point glory in their first-round matches.
Leander Paes and his Canadian partner Dainel Nestor advanced to the second round of the men's doubles at Wimbledon, beating the Serbian pair of Victor Troicki and Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after an hour and 42 minutes on Wednesday.
Roared on by 17,000 partisan fans Novak Djokovic fired Serbia ahead in the Davis Cup final on Friday but Tomas Berdych hit back for the Czech Republic to leave the tie delicately poised going into the weekend.
Yuki Bhambri, who failed to rise to the occasion and suffered a straight-set bashing at the hands of Dusan Lajovic in the opening singles, today said unforced errors and failure to push the opponent hard had done in him in the Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie in Bangalore.
Novak Djokovic is still uncertain whether he will take part in the 2022 Australian Open but will soon make a decision, the World No 1 said after Serbia's 2-1 defeat by Croatia in the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday.
Serbian world number two Novak Djokovic forced the Davis Cup final against holders Czech Republic into a decisive fifth rubber on Sunday with a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Tomas Berdych in the opening reverse singles.
Teeanger Borna Coric completed an unlikely comeback for Croatia as the small Balkan nation beat the United States 3-2 in a Davis Cup quarter-final in Oregon on Sunday.
Djokovic received a lot of heat from the tennis community and fans alike after testing positive.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will miss Serbia's Davis Cup World Group playoff tie against India in Bangalore next weekend, the Balkan nation's coach Bogdan Obradovic said on Monday.
India face one of the most ferocious Davis Cup challenges at home as nothing less than their best would be required to challenge world number two Serbia, who will test skill and strength of the hosts even without world number one Novak Djokovic in Bangalore from Friday.
Yuki Bhambri returned to India's Davis Cup squad for the World Group play-off tie against world No 2 Serbia, as the selectors named a six-member squad on expected lines. Somdev Devvarman, the country's No 1 singles player, will lead the squad.
Holders Czech Republic took a 2-1 lead over hosts Serbia in the Davis Cup final after Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek romped to a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac in Saturday's doubles.
Russia took an unassailable 2-0 lead over Croatia in the Davis Cup final in Madrid on Sunday to secure their third title and first in 15 years, as Daniil Medvedev outlasted Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6(7), 6-2.
'My arm has been -- I have had an issue there for quite a while now. It has gotten bigger in the last couple of weeks, so I'm just trying to protect it.'
Stanislas Wawrinka breezed into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday and saw another seed removed from his path to the final when lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan turned his match against Tomas Berdych upside down.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
hampion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic turned in impressive displays to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday. Nadal, chasing a record-extending 12th Monte Carlo title, broke Grigor Dimitrov's serve on four occasions to defeat the Bulgarian 6-4 6-1.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The winners of the Serbia-Germany tie will join Spain, Russia and Italy in the semi-finals.
'You'd also be wrong if you tried to lump me in the same category as Bernard Tomic'
Brady was sidelined by knee and foot injuries since the summer of 2021
Tournament officials said there was no heat rule in effect on Friday for the first time in three days, with cloud cover expected to bring cooler temperatures.
Novak Djokovic enjoyed a stress-free return to US competition following a two year absence
Switzerland took advantage of Novak Djokovic's absence to open a 2-0 lead over last year's runners-up Serbia in their Davis Cup tie on Friday with Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka winning their singles rubbers.
Professional sports events in Italy have been played without fans since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora said fans would be allowed to attend the closing stages of the tournament on Sunday and Monday.
Novak Djokovic's intentions in organising the ill-fated Adria Tour were good but the world number one could have applied a bit more common sense to how the exhibition event was run, former ATP players' council head Vijay Amritraj said. The Serbian has faced fierce criticism after he, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki contracted COVID-19 following the charity event in Serbia and Croatia.
A round-up of all the tennis action from around the globe.
Since new Davis Cup reforms have been introduced, India will not have to go back to the Asia/Oceania Group immediately.
Wawrinka, making his first return to the site of his 2016 triumph since undergoing knee surgery, showed he was still shaking off the ring rust despite encouraging victories in the first two rounds.
Veteran Indian tennis star Leander Paes today said that the dramatic victory he pulled off along with partner Rohan Bopanna against formidable Serbians was the best comeback effort of his Davis Cup career.
Paire, ranked 29 in the world, said the sport had become a 'tasteless job'.
Jabeur advances to first WTA 100 final in Madrid in style.
The Czech Republic retained their Davis Cup title after Radek Stepanek ruthlessly exploited the inexperience of Dusan Lajovic in the decisive rubber to seal a 3-2 final victory over Novak Djokovic's Serbia on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal's season got off to a miserable start as his comeback from injury and illness stalled in the Qatar Open first round with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat by German journeyman Michael Berrer.
Djokovic struggled with both his serve and backhand during a 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero and later said his left shoulder had been bothering him for weeks with the pain getting worse during the match.
Australia eased ahead of Bosnia 2-0 as John Millman thumped Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2 while Alex de Minaur overcame Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6(0), before Millman revealed the team's larger goal under captain Lleyton Hewitt.
Marin Cilic completed a dream week by steering Croatia into the Davis Cup World Group on Sunday but Spain found themselves out in the wilderness after crashing to defeat in Brazil.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances