Czechs lead Serbia 1-0 in Davis Cup quarters

Tomas Berdych eased past Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over Serbia in their Davis Cup quarterfinal on Friday.

The seventh-ranked Berdych never lost his serve and converted his first match point with a return winner to complete the victory in 1 hour, 49 minutes.

"I did what I could," Berdych said. "When you get prepared well, anything is possible."

Troicki opened the match with a double fault and struggled throughout on a slow indoor clay-court at O2 Arena and lost his serve seven times.

The Czechs played their recent home Davis Cup ties on indoor hard courts but hoped the clay court would work in their favor.

In the opening singles, the change worked.

"The court suits us well." Berdych said. "That's exactly what we wanted."

Berdych dominated his 27th-ranked opponent despite 30 unforced errors to improve to 18-11 in the Davis Cup singles and 3-1 against Troicki.

"The most important (thing) was that I could rely on my serve," he said.

Janko Tipsarevic, who this week reached his highest ranking of No. 8, will play Radek Stepanek in the second singles to try to level the tie.

Serbia is without top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

The winner will face Argentina or Croatia in September's semifinals.