World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Canadian No. 1 Milos Raonic, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2, to level Serbia's Davis Cup semifinal tie with Canada, 2-2.
Janko Tipsarevic leads Canada's Vasek Pospisil, 7-6 (3), 6-2, in the decisive fifth rubber on the red clay of Belgrade. Neither man managed a break in the opening set. Tipsarevic took a 4-0 lead in the tie breaker and won the 78-minute first set when Pospisil put a backhand into the net. The Serbian hit a sharp backhand down the line to break for a 2-0 second-set lead. Tipsarevic sealed the second set on a forehand error.
It is the first meeting between world No. 23 Tipsarevic and the 41st-ranked Pospisil, who partnered Daniel Nestor to a 6-7 (6), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 10-8 victory over Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac in Saturday's doubles to give Canada a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five match semifinal.
"I'm really glad but it's not enough. We need another point," Djokovic told Davis Cup.com after sweeping Raonic in two hours, eight minutes. "I hope all the people stay here because Janko needs to win. We need to take the last match to get into the final. It's a very unpredictable competition. The pressure can affect both players but I really think Janko knows how to play these matches. He needs to stay calm and rely on the support of the crowd to win."
The winner of the Serbia-Canada tie will play for the Davis Cup championship in November against the Czech Republic, which defeated Argentina in the other semifinal. Serbia won the Davis Cup in 2010; Canada is playing for a trip to its first Davis Cup final.