Janko Tipsarevic plays Gael Monfils in the opening singles rubber of the Davis Cup final.
Tipsarevic will be looking to score a crucial blow for Serbia against France’s number one player. With Novak Djokovic to play later this afternoon, this is a must win match for Monfils though he faces a tough task in front of a sell-out partisan crowd packing out the Belgrade Arena.
Monfils has enjoyed an outstanding autumn, reaching the US Open quarter-finals, picking up the Montpellier title and making a second successive Paris Masters final. He has played a vital role in France’s stunning series of Davis Cup results this year, which includes a 5-0 whitewash of defending champions Spain in the quarters.
Tipsarevic has had a fairly average season, ending the year ranked 49. Many would agree that he has the talent to be far higher but his performances are so inconsistent. He stunned Andy Roddick in the US Open second round and then put in a pretty inauspicious performance a few days later against Monfils, to lose in four sets.
However Tipsarevic lives for the big occasions and it’s matches like this which bring the best out of him which is why he’s been selected ahead of the higher ranked Viktor Troicki. Against the Czech Republic, he starred, defeating Tomas Berdych on day one and then stunning Radek Stepanek in the fifth and decisive rubber.
Prediction: Tipsarevic to get Serbia off to the perfect start with a five set win.
More details:
Tipsarevic v Monfils begins at 13.00 GMT
