Troicki, who has been battling a recurring foot injury since Serbia’s triumph at the World Team Cup in May, was clearly in discomfort from the start of his match against Inoyatov, but stuck to his task and got a standing ovation from an appreciative home crowd after one hour and 38 minutes of play.

“I would have retired under any other circumstances, but I played through the pain because I had to reward this wonderful crowd who turned up today,” Troicki told a post-match news conference. “I felt strong pain as soon as I rushed to the net for the first time and I am not sure I will recover in time for my next ATP tournament in Bangkok,” he added. “I will give it a few days’ rest and make my decision.”

Obradovic appreciative

World No. 163 Ilija Bozoljac, who played some of the best tennis of his career before a back injury had sidelined him for 10 weeks, returned with an emphatic victory over the unheralded Uzakov. Wearing his customary bandana, Bozoljac raced effortlessly to victory effortlessly in front of 3,000 fans in the Belgrade Arena.

Serbia team captain Bogdan Obradovic praised his team and reiterated he hoped for a home tie in front of a full house in the first round of next year’s competition, with the draw taking place in Geneva on Wednesday. “I want to thank my team for a brilliant performance, the Serbian Tennis Federation for being there for us all the time and the fans for turning up throughout the weekend to support us,” Obradovic said in a courtside interview.

“Our next match is going to be the first step towards the end goal, which is to win the Davis Cup and I am confident we are going to be genuine contenders for the trophy,” he added.

Serbia superior

Although Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic at times struggled against Farrukh Dustov and Denis Istomin respectively in the opening singles rubbers on Friday, Uzbekistan never looked like upsetting a superior Serbian team and the gulf in class was all the more apparent in Saturday’s doubles, when Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic outclassed the Uzbek duo to seal the tie.

Many would have expected the Serbs to go through the motions on Sunday, but the ailing Troicki and then Bozoljac put in two professional performances to complete a most successful weekend for the home team.

The Serbians, who survived in the Davis Cup top tier for the third year in a row, could be genuine contenders to win the competition next year with world No. 4 Novak Djokovic back, after he pulled out of the tie against Uzbekistan to recuperate from a gruelling North America tour.