HEAD's Djokovic leads Team Serbia to historic Davis Cup title

HEAD racquet rebel Novak Djokovic has fulfilled his 2010 tennis dream in perfect fashion by leading Serbia to a first-even Davis Cup title. The 3-2 defeat of France in a Belgrade arena filled to its 17,000-person capacity marks an historic first triumph for the world No. 3 who plays with a YouTek Speed MP.

Joining Djokovic in victory celebrations after Serbia became the only nation besides Croatia in 2005 to win a Davis Cup trophy from its first appearance in a final, was Serbian doubles ace Nenad Zimonjic. The 34-year-old HEAD player added Davis Cup honors to his resume a week after winning the doubles title at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London alongside Daniel Nestor.

Djokovic was thrilled to have ended his season with a storybook final in a tie played with HEAD ATP balls and remains sure that he can make the brief off-season turnaround after an offseason which will last barely three weeks. The Serb rode to the rescue in Sunday's first of the reverse singles, coming up victorious in a must-win match as he beat France's Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to pull the tie level at two wins each.

"It was unbelievable today," said Djokovic. "Maybe one of the best matches I have played this year. It was definitely a lot of pressure and expectations. But this is the final of Davis Cup. You cannot get more energy than this. So I‘m very, very happy with the way I played."

Djokovic said his decision to rest instead of playing the Saturday doubles was a wise strategic choice. "I didn‘t feel that playing was the best option. It was a good decision from my side so I can save my energy for singles today. I felt great."

Teammate Viktor Troicki then clinched the win as he defeated Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in the deciding fifth rubber.