If defending Davis Cup champion Serbia is to return to the final, it will have to overcome a 0-2 deficit against a hungry Argentine squad looking to lift its country’s first trophy, atpworldtour.com reports.
After Armenian-born David Nalbandian crafted an impressive performance against Viktor Troicki to give Argentina a 1-0 lead, Juan Martin del Potro extended his country’s advantage by defeating Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday in Belgrade. "I served really well today. It's maybe one of my best matches of the season," del Potro declared.
In the first rubber, Nalbandian seized his opportunity to put Argentina ahead. The former World No. 3 dismantled Troicki, a late replacement for World No. 1 and newly crowned US Open titlist Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 52 minutes. Djokovic decided to skip the opening singles rubber due to a back injury.
"I played great," assessed Nalbandian. "I think I played solid from the baseline and that was one of the good things with my game. I feel I'm in good shape and I'm happy to give Argentina the first point."
Nalbandian, currently No. 74 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, withstood 15 aces and 42 aces from Troicki's racquet to record his 22nd win in 27 singles rubbers for Argentina.
