Newcomers Serbia clinch World Team Cup
BERLIN (Reuters) - Newcomers Serbia clinched the World Team Cup in Duesseldorf with a 2-1 victory over hosts Germany in the final on Saturday.
Janko Tipsarevic gave Serbia their second, winning point when he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-4 for an unassailable 2-0 lead with the doubles rubber remaining.
The Serbs, who also won all three group matches, grabbed the lead when Viktor Troicki edged past Rainer Schuettler 6-4 7-6.
Serbia became the first country since Yugoslavia in 1990 to win the cup on their debut appearance, organizers said.
Tipsarevic carved out two breaks in the first set and another in the second to beat the world number 31 and clinch the title for his country with an ace on match point.
Dominant throughout, world number 72 Tipsarevic gave Kohlschreiber no chance of a comeback similar to the ones the German staged in his group matches.
"I cannot be satisfied with my game," said Kohlschreiber. "Nothing was working at the back," he said of his error-ridden performance.
Nicolas Kiefer and Mischa Zverev took a point for Germany in the dead doubles rubber, beating Troicki and doubles world number one Nenad Zimonjic 7-5 4-6 10-7.
(Writing by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Rex Gowar)
