 Tipsarevic won both of his singles matches
Serbia reached the final of the Davis Cup for the first time courtesy of a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic. Janko Tipsarevic beat Radek Stepanek 6-0 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the decisive singles rubber after Novak Djokovic had pulled Serbia level at 2-2 in Belgrade. The US Open runner-up beat Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 in three hours and 14 minutes in front of 18,000 fans. Serbia will host France in the December final after the French completed a 5-0 whitewash of Argentina. Djokovic, who missed the opening singles on Friday because he was still recovering from Monday's US Open final against Rafael Nadal, returned to play doubles on Saturday in a losing effort.  | Finally, it was my turn to shine for the national team |
That defeat left Serbia trailing 2-1 and world number two Djokovic had to beat Berdych to keep his country's hopes alive. Djokovic went into the match leading 2-1 against Berdych in career head-to-heads, the seventh-ranked Czech having won their Wimbledon semi-final in July in straight sets. The Serb made a lethargic start, dropping his serve in the seventh game to lose the first set, but drew strength from the support of his hometown crowd in the Belgrade Arena. Djokovic required medical attention in the second set after attempting a smash and falling heavily and returned to the court with a bandage on his right knee. However, he did not appear to be hampered, breaking Berdych before serving out the set and taking control from then on. It was Tipsarevic who was the real hero of the tie, taking the opening set of the decisive fifth rubber in just 23 minutes and allowing Stepanek only seven points. Tipsarevic seemed to be coasting when he took a 3-1 lead in the second set but was broken back and had to save a set point before clinching the tie-break. The Serb romped into a 4-0 lead in the third before the nerves started to set in, with Stepanek winning three games in a row before saving two match points. | 606: DEBATE |
However, the crowd were not silenced for long and the tie was won when Stepanek sent a backhand wide. "This was a fairytale end to the tie, I have to thank the crowd for their fantastic support because they brought us back from the dead," Tipsarevic said. "Finally, it was my turn to shine for the national team after the others, mostly Djokovic, proved to be instrumental so many times. "I am glad I saved my best tennis for the national team in a match of this magnitude. I had to finish it in three sets today because I was getting tired towards the end and Stepanek was getting back into the match." Gilles Simon beat Eduardo Schwank 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 and Arnaud Clement beat Horacio Zeballos 7-5 6-1 as France completed a rout of Argentina in Lyon. "We've been lucky enough to just play at home so far," said France captain Guy Forget. "The final was already very hard and now it will be even harder because Djokovic and Tipsarevic are very talented. They will probably have 20,000 people behind them. It will be tough.  Fish came through a five-set epic to give the US victory in Bogota |
"Novak is in great form at the moment after his final at the US Open. Whenever they needed him, he responded. "When he plays for his country, he surpasses himself every time. There's also Tipsarevic, who saved his team against the Czech Republic. "But we beat the Australians at their place a few years ago [in the final in 2001], so why not repeat the feat?" Australia went down 3-2 to Belgium as the visitors won both the reverse singles on Monday after rain had washed out play in Cairns on Sunday. Belgium took full advantage after Lleyton Hewitt injured his wrist and withdrew, with Olivier Rochus beating Peter Luczak 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-2) and Steve Darcis seeing off Carsten Ball 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-4. Mardy Fish won a dramatic five-set match against Colombian number one Santiago Giraldo in Bogota on Sunday to keep the United States in the World Group. Fish won 3-6 6-3 7-5 4-6 8-6 in four hours and five minutes for his third point of the weekend, having won his opening singles match and his doubles match on Saturday. Austria beat Israel 3-2 in Tel Aviv to keep their place in the World Group, with stand-in Martin Fischer winning the decisive rubber against Harel Levy 2-6 6-3 6-0 6-2. Sweden stay in the World Group courtesy of a 3-2 win over Italy, Robin Soderling sealing victory with a 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Simone Bolelli in Lidkoping. Rohan Bopanna defeated Brazil's Ricardo Mello 6-3 7- 6 (7-2) 6-3 in the final singles to complete a fine comeback and retain India's their top-flight status. It was the first time India, who have been playing in the Davis Cup since 1921, have recovered to win a tie after being 2-0 down. Kazakhstan qualified for the World Group for the first time, thrashing Switzerland 5-0 in Astana, while Romania returned to the top table with a whitewash of Ecuador and Germany defeated South Africa 5-0 in Stuttgart.
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