Djokovic-Erlich Complete Dream Debut Outing

© Getty ImagesJonathan Erlich and Novak Djokovic have fun during the trophy presentation.

Novak Djokovic was able to brush aside the disappointment of Serbia’s surprising defeat to Ghana at the FIFA World Cup on Sunday afternoon to win his first ATP World Tour doubles title with the help of Israel’s Jonathan Erlich.

The first-time pairing came from behind to defeat Karol Beck of Slovakia and David Skoch of the Czech Republic 6-7(6), 6-2, 10-3 in the final of the AEGON Championships on Sunday.

As winners of the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tennis tournament at The Queen’s Club, Djokovic and Erlich received 250 ATP World Tour ranking points and €29,300, while runners-up Beck and Skoch earned 150 ranking points and €15,600 in prize money.

“I’m very excited, I’d been waiting to win that title for a long time, two years,” said Erlich, whose last ATP World Tour doubles title came with countryman Andy Ram at Indian Wells in 2008. “I want to thank Novak, he wanted to play with me. He’s a good friend, it has been an honour and I’ve enjoyed every minute.”

Aside from their straight-sets victory in the first round, Djokovic and Erlich were forced to battle through four Match Tie-breaks on their way to the title. In the final against Beck and Skoch, who had stunned top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in the semi-finals, Djokovic and Erlich recovered from a break down in the first set and led 5-3 in the tie-break before losing out to trail by a set.

The unseeded pairing hit back strongly in the second set, winning five straight games from 1-2 down to level the match, and raced away with the Match Tie-break to seal victory in 89 minutes.

“Every one [Match Tie-break] was incredible, we played with so much focus and determination. I was lucky to be playing with one of the best players in the world,” said Djokovic, who found out halfway through the match about Serbia’s opening loss in Group D of the FIFA World Cup. “It’s a first grass court title for me, in singles or doubles; I’d been in two finals. It’s important to me,” added the Belgrade native.