Serbia crashed out of the first round for the second consecutive year when they lost to Spain 4-1 in Benidorm in May, but victory against the Uzbeks would give them a chance to fulfil their dream of winning the Davis Cup in the near future, Obradovic said after Thursday’s draw.

“If we get through this play-off, we will hope for an easier draw and a home tie in the World Group first round next year, because our ambition is to win the Davis Cup,” he said. “However, we are now focused only on the task ahead, which is to beat a motivated Uzbek team hoping to spring an upset and reach the World Group for the first time. The fact that they are in that position speaks for their quality and we will not underestimate them at any point,” the coach added.

The draw pitted Serbia’s world No. 58 Janko Tipsarevic against Uzbekistan’s top player Denis Istomin, ranked 99 on the ATP tour, in Friday’s opening singles rubber in the Belgrade Arena. Viktor Troicki will then take on Uzbekistan’s world No. 429 Farrukh Dustov in what should be a straightforward task for Serbia’s world No. 28. The full draw for the weekend is as follows:

Friday
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v Denis Istomin (UZB)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) v Farrukh Dustov (UZB)

Saturday
Janko Tipsarevic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) v Farrukh
Dustov/Denis Istomin (UZB)

Sunday
Viktor Troicki (SRB) v Denis Istomin (UZB)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v Farrukh Dustov (UZB)

The Serbian Tennis Federation has decided to grant free entrance to fans in an effort to entice as many of them as possible to flock to the Belgrade Arena, seating 18,000 and home to Serbia’s 4-1 play-off win over Australia in 2007 which enabled them to enter the Davis Cup World Group for the first time as an independent nation. Serbia’s top-ranked player Novak Djokovic, the world No. 4, led that charge in front of a full house but will attend this weekend’s tie only as a spectator, after deciding to pull out of it during his run to the US Open semifinals last week.
Zimonjic, who won the 2009 Wimbledon doubles title with his Belgrade-born Canadian partner Daniel Nestor, believes the home crowd can be a telling factor in Serbia’s bid to stay in the Davis Cup World Group. “It won’t be an easy tie because Uzbekistan has earned its right to be here with a shock win over Japan. Fans always make a difference in the Davis Cup and we really hope that they will turn up in droves to get behind us. Their support means a lot to us no matter who we play, our appearances on home soil are few and far between, so they should take this opportunity to come here and create the right kind of atmosphere,” Zimonjic said.
Uzbekistan’s top player Istomin hopes the surprise package of this year’s World Group play-offs can complete their perfect run. “I am in the best form of my life and I hope that we can pull off another shock by eliminating Serbia, although that’s going to be a very tall order. I like the hardcourt surface here but I know that I face an uphill task against Tipsarevic in the opening singles rubber because he is a great player,” Istomin said.