Kecmanovic defeats Draper, gives Djokovic a chance to clinch Serbia’s Davis Cup tie against Great Britain

Serbia is up 1-0 in its quarter-final tie against Great Britain following a win by Miomir Kecmanovic. Novak Djokovic can clinch it.

Tennis – Davis Cup Quarter-Final – Serbia v Kazakhstan – Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain – December 1, 2021 Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic reacts during his singles match against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin || 214305_0026

Ricky Dimon

November 23, 2023

Serbia is on the doorstep of the Davis Cup semi-finals. And it still has Novak Djokovic in its back pocket for the next rubber.

Miomir Kecmanovic got the Serbs off to a winning start to their quarter-final tie against Great Britain by defeating Jack Draper 7-6(2), 7-6(6) on Thursday night in Malaga, Spain. In a match that featured zero breaks of serve, Kecmanovic prevailed after two hours and two minutes.

Advantage: Serbia ✅@MioKecmanovic produces a brilliant performance to defeat Jack Draper in straight sets, 7-6(2), 7-6(6) 🇷🇸#DavisCupFinals | @TSSRBIJE pic.twitter.com/m4lEYCz0jz
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 23, 2023

Kecmanovic too good in two tie-breakers

Kecmanovic did not face a single break point in the entire contest, while Draper saved all four that he faced. The Serb had two chances with Draper serving at 3-4 and two more at 4-5. However, the British left-hander managed to hold on both occasions to force a tie-breaker. It was a ‘breaker dominated by Kecmanovic, who surged to a 4-1 lead and never looked back.

In the second set, both players held easily the entire way — there was not even one deuce game. The next ‘breaker was far more competitive, but again Kecmanovic was too good when it mattered most. The world No 55 missed one match point with Draper serving at 5-6, but he sealed the deal on his next opportunity at 7-6 with a service winner.

Djokovic faces Norrie with a chance to clinch for Serbia

The second singles rubber pits Djokovic against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie. If the world No 1 gets the job done, Serbia will meet Italy in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Djokovic has won 20 consecutive singles rubbers for Serbia dating back to his last loss in 2011.