Agence France-Presse
Paris, March 7: Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray spent almost 10 hours on court between them as they steered Serbia and Great Britain into a blockbuster Davis Cup quarterfinal showdown.
World No. 1 Djokovic needed four hours and 57 minutes Sunday to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to pull Serbia level at 2-2 with Kazakhstan in Belgrade. Viktor Troicki then beat World No. 200 Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to put 2010 champions Serbia into a July 15-17 quarterfinal with defending champions Great Britain. Djokovic hit 19 aces and 37 winners but committed 94 unforced errors in his epic win over Kukushkin.
“This was one of the most difficult matches in my career both physically and mentally,” said 28-year-old Djokovic, who again was feeling the effects of a shoulder twinge.
World No. 2 Murray needed four hours 55 minutes in Birmingham to defeat Kei Nishikori 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in another epic duel as his side took an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Japan at Birmingham.
Murray had seemed set for a comfortable afternoon against sixth-ranked Nishikori by taking the first two sets against a player he had defeated five times in six previous encounters.
But Nishikori battled and was even a break to the good in the deciding set before Murray stormed back for victory. “The crowd helped for sure. I was struggling a little at the end of the third and a little bit throughout the fourth,” said Murray, who had been looking at the prospect of losing from two sets up for the first time in 11 years.
“There were long rallies, he was pushing me quite far off the baseline. I was trying to keep the points short but in the fifth I had to grit my teeth, fight hard and I managed to get the win,” he added.
“Thank you for all the support today (Sunday),” tweeted Nishikori. “Sorry we could not win. It was a big battle. We keep working to improve.”
In other ties, Croatia, the 2005 champions, needed a final rubber to defeat last year’s runners-up Belgium in Liege when 19-year-old Borna Coric swept past Kimmer Coppejans 7-6 (7-5),
6-2, 6-2.
David Goffin had brought Belgium level at 2-2 by seeing off former US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.