At the Čair Arena in Niš on Friday, Lithuanian tennis players shook hands with Serbian players, knowing that their strongest player would not be in the powerful lineup.
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It was already announced earlier that Novak Djokovic would not be playing in the match in Niš.
15min already wrote that unofficial reasons include political relations, as the 39-year-old tennis player is said to be in a different camp than Aleksandar Vučić, who has been the President of Serbia since 2017, and by participating he does not want to add points to the politician against whom protests have been held in Serbia in recent years.
This is not an official reason. Serbian team coach Viktor Troicki spoke on the phone with N. Djokovic on Thursday, assuring that his teammate will not be present over the weekend due to the peculiarities of the season schedule.
V. Troicki confirmed that N. Djokovic is currently not in Serbia.
“He has played for the team many times, helping us a lot. When he can, he tries to come, but now the tight schedule did not work out,” said V. Troicki, who himself played with N. Djokovic in the team when Serbia won the Davis Cup in 2010.
N. Djokovic has not played in the last three weeks, since he unexpectedly lost in the first round of the U.S. Open tournament in New York, vomiting and crying on the court, and after the lost match to Mariano Navone (ATP-49) explained that his body was seized by cramps and that he has been feeling terrible almost all season.
Indeed, the 39-year-old Serbian tennis legend, who has won the most Grand Slam tournaments in history (24) and held the No. 1 world ranking for a record 428 weeks, is no longer an unbeatable machine in recent years. In the world rankings, he has dropped from 7th to 12th position.
On the other hand, a couple of days ago he announced that he is preparing to participate in a tournament in China, which will take place from September 30 to October 6.
In any case, the absence of N. Djokovic in Niš evokes mixed feelings among Lithuanians.
“It would probably have been one of the last chances to see him on the tennis court,” said Lithuania’s number one tennis player, 21-year-old Vilius Gaubas (ATP – 119). “Of course, he is a record-breaking person, so maybe he will continue his career. It would have been nice to see him here, but without him, the situation is somewhat easier for us.”
And the second leader of our team, Edas Butvilas, wanted to face the tennis icon.
“I really wanted to play against Novak,” said the 22-year-old from Klaipėda, ranked 194th in the world. “But the team’s chances increase when he is not there. It would be nice to play against him, but it’s also nice when he’s not.”
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In the best-of-three series taking place on Saturday and Sunday, Serbia remains the favorite even without their legend.
In the Davis Cup matches in Niš, the main Serbian players – 27-year-old Miomir Kecmanović (ATP – 61) and 23-year-old Hamad Medjedović (ATP – 77) – are more experienced and have achieved more than our young tennis talents.
“The Serbian team is always strong, even without Djokovic. Their two players have been in the top hundred for several years, so it’s a strong team,” admitted E. Butvilas.
- The draw for the Davis Cup first world group meeting between the Serbian and Lithuanian teams in Niš determined that at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Edas Butvilas (ATP-194) and Serbian team leader Miomir Kecmanović (ATP-61) will be the first to step onto the Čair Arena court.
- In the second match on Saturday, Vilius Gaubas (ATP-119) will face Hamad Medjedović (ATP-77).
- Sunday will start with a doubles match. Lithuania’s team captain Laurynas Grigelis nominated Justas Trainauskas (ATP-1677) and Pijus Vaitiekūnas (ATP-1689), while Serbia’s captain Viktor Troicki nominated Stefan Latinović (doubles ATP-90) and M. Kecmanović. The doubles match starts at 2 p.m.
- After the doubles, two more singles matches are scheduled: M. Kecmanović will play against V. Gaubas, and H. Medjedović against E. Butvilas.
Meanwhile, the future paths of N. Djokovic, whose impressive career is approaching its end, do not yet have a clear date.
“He still loves tennis, when healthy, he believes he can play at the highest level,” said Serbian team captain V. Troicki. “When healthy, he enjoys tennis.”
Lithuanian team captain Laurynas Grigelis believes that Djokovic will still appear on the courts next season, despite having ended his own career much earlier.
“Maybe I can still come back, I’m still far from 39,” joked 35-year-old L. Grigelis, who himself retired in 2021 at the age of 30.
Now a tennis coach, L. Grigelis thinks that N. Djokovic still has the motivation to compete for titles.
“I think he still has the motivation to win his 25th Grand Slam title. It didn’t work out this year, but maybe next year will be the last,” L. Grigelis pondered. “I think he loves tennis, it’s hard for him to part with tennis.”
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