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MADRID — The old Davis Cup made Viktor Troicki the man of the moment in Serbia: feted in Belgrade and beyond after winning the decisive match of the 2010 final.
The new Davis Cup left him sitting in a courtside chair with a towel on Friday, covering his face as he wept at failing to give his friends and teammates a shot at another triumphant ending.
“God gave me once the chance to be the hero,” Troicki said later. “Now he took it away. I’m really disappointed with myself, really.”
Some players and captains in Madrid have argued that this new version of tennis’s oldest and most prestigious team competition should no longer be called the Davis Cup, that it is too different in form and tone to carry the name forward.