Want to make your kid a geography whiz? Have him watch tennis. The sport loves flags, which are ever-present on television broadcasts. So much so that they seem to be part of the players' names.
We've seen three country's flags more than others over the last few years: Switzerland, Spain and Serbia. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the main reasons why, of course. But that triumvirate hasn't been the only reason. Over the last few years, Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI), Fernando Verdasco (ESP), David Ferrer (ESP), Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) and Viktor Troicki (SRB) have taken leaps in their careers, reaching the later rounds of big tournaments and winning matches against the elite. Today, while Roger "Red Cross" Federer won in Stockholm, Viktor "Tricolor" Troicki claimed his first ATP title in Moscow.
It wasn't easy for Troicki, but that was to be expected. Breaking through is always difficult, and Troicki had to contend with the erratic but dangerous Marcos Baghdatis. The Cypriot rallied from 3-0 down in the third set of his semifinal against Denis Istomin to reach the final, and won the first set today.
Troicki smartly took care of what he could control. He served beautifully, holding his final 11 service games. But what put him over the top was his play in the rallies. Troicki does a lot with a short backswing; he creates tough angles for his opponent and is very accurate. He can also run down a lot of balls and still give his opponent a tough return to handle. Conditioning probably played a part in this result—Troicki won 3-6, 6-4, 6-3—but the Serb's play was the decisive factor. With Tipsarevic watching in the stands, Troicki tasted victory for the first time and reminded us, once again, what Serbia's flag looks like.
—Ed McGrogan