Injured Djokovic leads Serbia over U.S. in Davis Cup

Novak Djokovic, shown at last year's BNP Paribas Open in
Indian Wells, overcame a twisted ankle to give Serbia a 3-1
victory over the United States in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Hope soon turned to despair for the U.S. Davis Cup team.
   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia twisted his right ankle early in the first set of Sunday's opening singles match against No. 20 Sam Querrey in Boise, Idaho. A U.S. victory would have sent the quarterfinal series to a deciding fifth match between American John Isner and Viktor Troicki.
   But Djokovic had his ankle taped, took anti-inflammatories and proceeded to beat Querrey 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-0 and give Serbia an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Both teams agreed to skip the fifth match.
   "I sincerely hope that I didn't make it worse, and I'm going to have a few days off," Djokovic told the crowd after the match. "I was able to play some good shots at the right time.
   "If I wasn't playing for Serbia, if I didn't have my teammates' support, I don't know if I would've played. The first half hour, it was very painful."
   Querrey, meanwhile, played with a sore chest muscle.
   "It hurt on my serve," said Querrey, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) San Francisco native and part-time member of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis. "I wasn't able to get my usual pop, and that's tough when you're playing against the best returner in the world."
   Serbia, the 2010 Davis Cup champion, will host Canada in the semifinals in September. Canada, led by 15th-ranked Milos Raonic, defeated Italy 3-1 in Vancouver, British Columbia, to reach the semis for the first time.
   The defending champion Czech Republic will host Argentina in the other semifinal.
   The United States, which has won a record 32 Davis Cup titles but none since 2007, will try again next year.

COLLEGE RESULTS

Men

   No. 67 Idaho def. Sacramento State 4-3 in Lewiston, Idaho. No. 1 singles: Dmitry Perevoshchiko (I) def. Roy Brandys 6-2, 6-2. Team records: Idaho 20-4, Sac State 14-12.
   Saint Mary's def. Hawaii 4-3 in Moraga. No. 1 singles: Jesse Kiuru (SM) def. Jared Spiker 6-1, 6-1. Team records: Saint Mary's 9-9, Hawaii 6-11.

Women

   Santa Clara def. Saint Mary's 4-3 in Santa Clara. No. 1 singles: No. 28 Katie Le (SC) def. No. 18 Jenny Jullien 7-5, 7-6. Team records: Santa Clara 9-8 overall, 5-1 West Coast Conference; Saint Mary's 10-8, 5-1.