Somdev beats Serbia's Tipsarevic

Somdev Devvarman downed Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (3) to help India level at 1-1 with defending champion Serbia in the first round of the Davis Cup after the opening singles matches on Friday.

Earlier, Viktor Troicki struggled before beating Rohan Bopanna 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3.

Tipsarevic led 4-1 in the first set, 5-2 in the second and served for the third set, but Devvarman fought back each time. He sealed the match after another in a series of unforced errors by the Serb.

"It was obvious Tipsarevic wasn't in the match," said Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic.

The star of Serbia's 3-2 win in last year's final over France, Troicki cruised through the first two sets against the 629th-ranked Indian but then faltered. Bopanna started hitting some spectacular winners after converting his first break point for the third set.

"He definitely played well and I didn't," The 18th-ranked Troicki said. "I became nervous after he tied, but I somehow managed to regain my composure in the decisive set."

Novak Djokovic decided to skip the series because of fatigue after winning Australian Open and Dubai titles in recent weeks.

India also had a setback, with experienced doubles pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi withdrawing due to injury.

Doubles are scheduled for Saturday, and reverse singles on Sunday.