Serbia Crowned World Tennis Champions

Jubilant fans, wearing team shirts and sporting national flags as they set off flares and fireworks that lit the sky, poured into the city centre after Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki won Sunday’s reverse singles to turn a 2-1 deficit into a memorable victory in front of 17,000 frenetic fans in the Belgrade Arena.

“This is the biggest moment of my life and my tennis career, it ranks as my number one achievement,” an elated Djokovic told reporters after the entire Serbian team made good on their promise to shave their heads if they won the title.

With Serbia’s tennis federation president Slobodan Zivojinovic the first to feel the electronic clipper moments after Troicki was mobbed by his team mates, the imposing venue rocked with joy as captain Bogdan Obradovic lifted the massive trophy.

The teams were tied 1-1 after Friday’s opening singles, when Gael Monfils blew away Janko Tipsarevic to give France the lead and Djokovic drew level with a carbon-copy rout of Gilles Simon. The silverware, however, seemed to be slipping away from the Serbs after Arnaud Clemont and Michael Llodra fought back from two sets down to win Saturday’s doubles against Nenad Zimonjic and Tipsarevic.

Djokovic, who has never lost a singles match in the Arena, then pummelled Monfils in straight sets in Sunday’s opening singles to set up the grand finale, where Troicki produced the best performance of his career to send the home fans into raptures.

Hitting baseline winners at will and hammering in volleys from almost impossible angles with shots that at times defied the laws of physics, Troicki swept away a helpless Llodra who broke down in tears after the defeat and took a lengthy comforting from his team.

“It is an unbelievable feeling and I am still now aware of what we have achieved, it will take a few days to sink in,” Troicki said before the Serbian team set off into the night to join the celebrations.

They partied in a popular Belgrade nightclub, where they demonstrated a plethora of non-tennis talents as they danced expertly to local brass-band music and then sang popular folk chartbusters after they took over the microphone.

Having won the trophy at the first time of asking, it was a fitting party for success-hungry Serbia as a growing tennis nation which has now earned the respect of the sport’s aristocrats.