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Boise, Idaho • The United States trails Serbia 2-1 in a Davis Cup quarterfinal after the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan lost to Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 4-6, 15-13 on Saturday.
Fans were on the edge of their seats throughout the 4-hour, 23-minute match. The Serbians had their share of fans, many of whom were waving the country's flag while urging on their team.
Zimonjic served three aces in the final game, closing out the victory with an ace on the second match point in the 28th game. It was a clutch performance by a multiple Grand Slam doubles champion.
"For sure, it's the biggest win in the Davis Cup doubles for me," said the 36-year-old Zimonjic, who was instrumental in Serbia's only Davis Cup victory in 2010. "We were playing very good.
"This was definitely a great, great performance and great match from me."
Bozoljac is a 27-year-old journeyman who ranks No. 335 in singles and 1,150 in doubles. Zimonjic and Bozoljac improved to 4-2 in Davis Cup doubles.
"Anybody who was supposed to play with Nenad was supposed to be the underdog against the Bryans," Bozoljac said. "We won and I just can't believe it happened.
"For me, it definitely means a lot because this is my best performance in Davis Cup so far. I knew if I give my 100 percent for one match I could play on a really high level."
The Bryans, who have a 20-4 Davis Cup doubles record together, have only played two five-set matches in Davis Cup competition and both took place this year.
"We have to tip our hats to those guys," Bob Bryan said. "… We're obviously disappointed that we let the team down."
Sunday's reverse singles matches will start with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic playing 20th-ranked Sam Querrey. The final match will be 44th-ranked Viktor Troicki of Serbia against 23rd-ranked John Isner.