MADRID/STARNBERG, December 2, 2021

Serbia defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals in Madrid.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic led his team to success by winning the second singles rubber against Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4 followed by a hard-fought 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 doubles victory alongside Nikola Cacic over Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

🇷🇸 IDEMO 🇷🇸

Serbia clinches a fifth Davis Cup semi-final, finishing off Kazakhstan 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.#DavisCupFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/ZzcmuHI1pL

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) December 1, 2021

“I’m proudest of the fighting spirit. We had a little drop energetically in the second set, but we managed to bounce back. The start of the third set was crucial the first couple of games to hold our nerves, try to switch the momentum to our side and that’s what we managed,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.

“I’m proud of Nikola, proud of this team and I think we deserve to be in the semi-finals.”

Cacic added: “This is our third match played together and every match is better. We are getting better on the court. We had a little bit of a problem in the second set actually, I got a little bit tight… But we managed to come back in the third set and I’m really happy.”

Earlier in the afternoon at the Madrid Arena, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin saved four match points to secure a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(11) triumph over Miomir Kecmanovic in the first singles rubber.

Serbia will play Croatia in the stage of the last four teams.

Quarterfinal – Serbia defeated Kazakhstan 2-1

Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(11)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 6-3 6-4

Nikola Cacic/Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. Andrey Golubev/Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 6-2 2-6 6-3