Tennis: Czech Republic beat Serbia to retain Davis Cup

AP), Sunday 17 Nov 2013

Czechs beat Serbia to defend Davis Cup title

Czech Republic
Members of the Czech national tennis team celebrate after they won the Davis Cup Finals in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. The Czech Republic has defeated Serbia at the 2013 Davis Cup Finals with the overall score of 3-2. (Photo: AP)

The Czech Republic won their second successive Davis Cup title after Radek Stepanek beat Dusan Lajovic 6-3 6-1 6-1 to give them a 3-2 victory against the 2010 champions Serbia on Sunday.

Serbia's world number two Novak Djokovic levelled the tie earlier in the day with a straight-sets win over Tomas Berdych, but the passionate home fans were silenced by a cool performance from Stepanek who gave the 117th-ranked Lajovic no chance in the decisive rubber.

Lajovic had 17,000 noisy Serbian fans on their feet when he broke Stepanek in the opening game but it turned out to be the high point of the match for the 23-year-old, as his more experienced opponent highlighted the gulf in class between the two players.

Stepanek combined his baseline and volleying skills to good effect and was mobbed by his team mates when he sealed victory after one hour and 52 minutes.

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