Novak Djokovic and Team Serbia continue their quest for glory at the Davis Cup Finals when they face Kazakhstan for a spot in the semifinals. It was in 2010 when Serbia last won the Davis Cup, world #1 Novak Djokovic will be keen to add another Davis Cup crown to his resume. The first couple of quarterfinals have gone against the script as Croatia shocked Italy and Germany upset Great Britain. Serbia are expected to avoid a similar fate, can Kazakhstan pull off the biggest upset yet?
Davis Cup Finals, Quarterfinal
Serbia vs Kazakhstan
Head-to-head: Serbia 1-0 Kazakhstan
Probable matchups:
Dusan Lajovic or Filip Krajinovic vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Bublik
Novak Djokovic / Filip Krajinovic vs Andrey Golubev / Aleksandr Nedovyesov
Team Serbia only just scrapped into the quarterfinals after finishing second in Group F. Serbia dominated a relatively weak Austrian team 3-0 before succumbing to Germany 1-2. Serbia still managed to progress to the quarterfinals as one of the two top ranked second placed teams. Djokovic cruised through each of his singles matches against Dennis Novak and Jan-Lennard Struff. However, Serbia looks vulnerable in the other two positions, Lajovic and Krajinovic aren’t playing great, and their doubles pairing isn’t settled.
Kazakhstan cruised through Group B, beating Sweden 2-1 and Canada 3-0. Alexander Bublik is leading the way for Kazakhstan, winning each of his singles matches against Mikael Ymer and Vasek Pospisil. Kazakhstan has a competent doubles team at their disposal, whilst Mikhail Kukushkin is vastly experienced on the Davis Cup stage.
It would be a big shock if Serbia can’t progress to the semifinals. Lajovic or Krajinovic should be able to get the job done in the opening rubber against Mikhail Kukushkin. Djokovic will then be a huge favourite to settle the deal when he faces Bublik for the first time. It’s hard to see Bublik having much success in that matchup. Expect Serbia to get the job done in each of the singles rubbers. Kazakhstan will be hoping to force a deciding doubles rubber where they would have a decent chance, but I’d still give the edge to Novak Djokovic and team Serbia in that situation.
Prediction: Serbia 2-0 Kazakhstan
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
