Although they played without world No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who pulled out of the tie with fatigue, Serbia were too strong for a modest Uzbek team and gave them no chance of pulling off an upset. The Serbians have qualified for the competition’s top tier for the third time in a row, having beaten Australia 4-1 in 2007 to reach it for the first time as an independent nation and Slovakia by the same score last year.

World doubles number two Zimonjic and Tipsarevic teamed up for the first time in Davis Cup but linked up superbly from the start of a one-sided contest and held their serve throughout, although they did not face top-level opposition in Istomin and Dustov. Zimonjic was flawless as usual but it was Tipsarevic, not a doubles specialist, who was particularly impressive with excellent net plays and a devastating backhand the Uzbek duo could not parry.

Serbs too strong for Uzbeks

Zimonjic and Tipsarevic broke their rivals twice in the first set and once in the second, having saved three break points after they were 4-2 up and 0-40 down on Tipsarevic’s serve. The world No. 58 produced an outstanding backhand winner and then an ace to put Serbia 5-2 up, allowing the home crowd favourites to race through the rest of the match and delight 7,000 fans in the Belgrade Arena after one hour and 36 minutes of play.

Viktor Troicki is due to play Istomin and Tipsarevic is scheduled to meet Dustov in Sunday’s reverse singles, but both team captains are likely to give their reserves a chance in the two dead rubbers.

With participation in next year’s World Group ensured, 12th-ranked Serbia will hope to avoid a third successive away tie against one of the big guns at next Wednesday’s draw in Geneva. The Serbs were beaten by defending champions Spain 4-1 in the first round in Benidorm this year, while they suffered a 3-2 defeat by Russia at the same stage in 2008.

Zimonjic hoping for better draw

“We are hoping for a kinder draw this time round, as it would give us a better chance of reaching the latter stages of the competition,” Zimonjic said in a courtside interview after the match. “It is always a pleasure to play in the Belgrade Arena with such wonderful fans behind us, we’ve all had a long season and it took some effort to achieve this,” he added.

Serbian captain Bogdan Obradovic was impressed with his team’s performance and said he hoped Zimonjic and Tipsarevic would team up more often in ATP events.

“Janko was obviously very motivated because it was an honour for him to play with Zimonjic. Like any other player, he can learn a lot from Nenad about doubles and his effervescent performance today suggests they can become a force to be reckoned with in the doubles for Serbia’s Davis Cup matches,” Obradovic told a post-match news conference. “The crowd had the opportunity to see a very entertaining match and we are now hoping for a home tie in next year’s first round, as playing on home soil would certainly boost our chances of progressing,” he added.