Djokovic to unfold the Slavic battle in Bratislava In 2005, three consecutive home victories enabled Slovak Republic to enjoy a thrilling run to the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final, where the team, led by Dominik Hrbaty, eventually succumbed to Croatian brilliance after five nerve-racking live rubbers. Almost three years later, the atmosphere in Bratislava is likely to become comparably red hot, as the home team shall be crossing sabres with yet another Slavic brethren, Serbia. With a lot at stake, and undoubtedly much to the joy of all diehard tennis fans, the Serbs will be gunning in their second-ever berth in the upper echelon of Davis Cup. To accomplish this mission the Serbian captain, Bogdan Obradovic, arrived in Bratislava with the strongest artillery possible. A top notch team built around Novak Djokovic, the charismatic Australian Open champion and current Olympic bronze medallist. The draw of this highly anticipated match-up was conducted in the grounds of the Sibamac arena, which will play host to this weekend’s action, and is as follows: Friday Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) v Novak Djokovic (SRB) Lukas Lacko (SVK) v Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) Saturday Michal Mertinak/Filip Polasek (SVK) v Nenad Zimonjic/Novak Djokovic (SRB) Sunday Lukas Lacko (SVK) v Novak Djokovic (SRB Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) v Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) Despite rumours that kept journalists busy sniffing around an alledged ankle problem for Janko Tipsarevic, nominations on either side brought very little surprise and on paper the odds seem to be clearly one-sided. Tipsy没事就好. Not only shall Serbia place their hopes on world No. 3 Djokovic but also both Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki boast better match records this season than either Lukas Lacko or Hrbaty. Hrbaty is uncharacteristically starting as Slovak No. 2 having won a mere six of his 22 encounters in his post-surgery comeback year. No white flag on Slovak side However the home team are refusing to surrender without shedding enough blood on the court and voiced a warrior-like spirit at the pre-draw press conference. “Yeah we might be seen as the underdog of this tie but I can assure you that we have no intention of being in white-flag mood, as in tennis nothing is granted in advance,” stated Slovak captian Milos Mecir, who has been at the helm of his country’s Davis Cup squad ever since they started competing as an independent nation in 1994. The Slovak No.1, 20-year old Lukas Lacko, remained even more enigmatic: “Do not expect a lot, but don’t be shocked on the other hand if we upset the favourites.” well see Lacko will have his chance to corroborate his words as he takes on Tipsarevic in the second of Friday’s singles rubbers, following the highlight of day one, a mighty clash of titans between Djokovic and Hrbaty. Hrbaty in good mood Speaking at the pre-draw press conference the Slovak team was obviously feeling relaxed, even managing to crack a couple of jokes. “At least I do not have to wait until Lukas finishes his match 20-18 in the fifth,” said Hrbaty referring to the previous Davis Cup tie here in Bratislava where Lacko narrowly lost to Labadze of Georgia in the decider. Commenting on what has changed since he took on Djokovic for the first time Hrbaty said: “Well a lot, especially our ATP ranking is way way different, as now Novak is in top ten while I am down the ranking, you know when we met for the first time, it was the other way around.” Novak ready to fight the crowd Nole跟Hrbaty第一次交手. Commenting on the order of play the Serbian No.1 was rather brief. “You know I know what our mission here is, and if I have to play first I will. I realize that Dominik is an illustrious player, almost invincible on home soil, but we are all pros and should be used to crowd as well. ” The Slovakians firmly believe that this tie will reignite the country’s passion for Davis Cup even though the era of Dominik Hrbaty might be coming to an end. The young country can no longer rely on the aura of one man, no matter how supremely lion-hearted and restless he might be, to guide them to glory. However, one of the undeniable charms of Davis Cup is the fact that it is completely unpredictable. Rankings, ATP titles, head-to-heads are all in the shade besides team spirit and the honour of representing the motherland. And such call of duty can always pull a trick out of the hat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Interview with Novak Djokovic (SRB) - draw day (SRB) http://www.daviscup.com/shared/medialibrary/audio/mp3/DC_9488_mp3.MP3 Interview with Bogdan Obradovic (SRB) - draw day http://www.daviscup.com/shared/medialibrary/audio/mp3/DC_9487_mp3.MP3 Tipsy跟Troicki的大头照XD http://www.daviscup.com/ties/tie.asp?tie=100010753 -- ╭══╗╔══╮ ╔══╮╭══╮ ╭╮╭╮ ╚╗╔╯╰╗╔╝ ║ ═ ║║╭═╯ ║╰╯║ "Beauty will save the World." ║║ ║║ ║╔═╯╰══╮ ╰╮╭╯ ( 美は世界を救うでしょう ) ║║ ╭╝╚╗ ║║ ╭═╯║ ║║ ╚╯ ╚══╯ ╰╝ ╰══╯ ╚╝ ─ Dostoevsky, The Idiot ─ http://bvisgood.pixnet.net/blog/ Tipsy my love! ψwop875 --

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