Captain Lleyton Hewitt stayed on the bench as John Isner defeated Sam Groth 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 6-2 before Bernard Tomic drew the hosts level by beating Jack Sock 7-6 (7/2) 6-3 3-6 6-4.
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Kazakhstan leads Serbia 2-1 in the first round of the Davis Cup after Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov beat Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in the doubles match.
Sunday’s decisive rubber followed a marathon match in which Djokovic battled for nearly five hours to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Britain’s Andy Murray beat Kei Nishikori in five sets to give the defending champions a 3-1 win over Japan in the first round Sunday.
Djokovic, who was forced to retire with the problem from last week’s Dubai Championships quarter-final against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, showed no sign of problems as he brushed aside his opponent in the acoustic Pionir Arena. “It’s not the first time we’ve been 2-1 down after the doubles and we know what we have to do if we are to force the final twist”. “The Davis Cup is different, you see that with Novak”.
Andy Murray has revealed his commitment to the Davis Cup after confirming he would miss certain tournaments to aid Britain’s cause.
Murray had seemed set for a comfortable afternoon against sixth-ranked Nishikori by taking the first two sets against a player he had defeated five times in six previous encounters.
Murray said: “It is obviously a tough match away from home”.
Djokovic hit 19 aces and 37 winners but committed 94 unforced errors in a four-hour 57-minute epic win over world No. 79 Kukushkin.
“We were trying, fighting, I believe we could have played better”.
Murray, playing the first Masters level event of the season, will be joined in Indian Wells by three female Brits inside the world’s top 80. Lukas Rosol defeated 18-year-old Davis Cup debutant Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 as the Czech Republic beat Germany 3-2. Italy completed a 5-0 thrashing of Switzerland, which was missing Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.
After Marin Cilic had beaten Kimmer Coppejans in straight sets, teenager Coric fought back from two sets down to level against Goffin only for the Belgian to tough it out 6-3 6-2 2-6 3-6 6-3 in Liege.
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In Guadeloupe, Yannick Noah s first match in his second spell as France captain got off to a winning start when Gael Monfils eased past Frank Dancevic 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 and Gilles Simon beat Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 for a 2-0 lead over Canada.
