Summary Canada ended the first day of their Davis Cup semi-final with Serbia level on 1-1.
BELGRADE (AP) - Milos Raonic served 34 aces to outlast Janko Tipsarevic in five sets Friday and level the Davis Cup semifinal between Canada and Serbia at 1-1 after the opening singles matches.
Raonic beat Tipsarevic 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in a 4-hour, 11 minute match on an indoor clay court at Belgrade Arena.
"My serve kept me alive," Raonic said. "I kept on plugging away and hoping my time would come."
Earlier, top-ranked Novak Djokovic swept aside Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-0, 6-4 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead.
Tipsarevic, Serbia s No. 2 player, had a match point against the big-serving Raonic when leading 5-4 in the fifth set. The Canadian eventually served out the match with four aces in the final game.
"I m extremely disappointed because I played well, but didn t use my chances. He served real well, especially in the fifth set."
Djokovic, coming off a four-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open final on Monday, won 12 consecutive games midway through Friday s singles match dispatched the 41st-ranked Canadian without facing a break point.
The Serb said he was still recovering from the change of the time zones and jet leg after arriving to the Serbian capital on Wednesday.
"I m glad the match was short," Djokovic said. "I forced him to make mistakes. ... I find additional inspiration while playing for my country."
Pospisil said Djokovic played "an amazing" match and gave him no chance.
"There is no excuse," Pospisil said. "He is the No. 1 player in the world for a reason."
Canada has never made it this far in the Davis Cup, while Serbia won the event in 2010.
Doubles are played Saturday and reverse singles on Sunday.
The winner will face either the Czech Republic or Argentina in the final in November.
