Novak Djokovic-less Serbia face shock upset at Davis Cup, fall to Slovakia in qualifers stage

2010 Davis Cup champions Serbia suffered from World No. 1 Novak Djokovic's absence in this week's qualifiers, going down 0-4 to Slovakia in Kraljevo.

Serbia captain Viktor Troicki disclosed to a Bosnian daily on Wednesday (January 31) that the 24-time Major winner would miss the Davis Cup qualifying round to spend time with his family in Marbella, Spain, following an arduous Australian Open campaign.

"I don't believe he will come (for Davis Cup qualifiers), he is in Spain with his family," Troicki said to Sportal.rs on Wednesday.

Serbia, however, clearly couldn't cope without their best player as they lost to Slovakia 0-4 on home turf. The Davis Cup qualifying round tie began on a bad note for the 2023 semifinalists, as World No. 41 Miomir Kecmanovic lost 6-7(2), 2-6 to World No. 142 Lukas Klein to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Slovakia then improved its lead to 2-0 as their top player Alex Molcan came from a set down to beat World No. 53 Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. The match was effectively decided in the next tie, as Lukas Klein and Igor Zelenay beat Miomir Kecmanovic and Nikola Cacic 7-6(4), 6-3 in doubles.

World No. 34 Laslo Djere then stepped onto the court in Serbia's dead rubber but retired at 3-4 to Lukas Pokorny. With the tie at 4-0, the final match between Lajovic and Klein was abandoned, sending Slovakia through to the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.

Serbia, meanwhile, would be relegated to the Davis Cup World Group I stage. They will compete in the World Group I play-offs later this year. Should the Serbs win this match, they would vie for a place in the knockout stage of the event again next year.

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"My priority will be winning the Davis Cup" - Novak Djokovic in 2023

Novak Djokovic reacts after Serbia's loss to Italy at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals

Novak Djokovic has always rejoiced at the prospect of competing at the 124-year-old team event. Last September, he had even claimed that guiding Serbia to its second Davis Cup title was on top of his priorities.

"My priority will be winning the Davis Cup. I hope it will come step by step," Djokovic said in September 2023.

The 24-time Major winner made good on that promise, beating top 25 players such as Cameron Norrie and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to help Serbia make the semifinals of the Davis Cup for only the fifth time since the tournament's inception.

Unfortunately, Djokovic wasn't destined for 2023 Davis Cup glory as he dropped both of his ties in the 1-2 semifinal loss against Italy. First, he wasted three match points to lose 2-6, 6-2, 5-7 to World No. 4 Jannik Sinner, before partnering with Miomir Kecmanovic in a 3-6, 4-6 loss in the deciding doubles tie.