BELGRADE, Sep 22 (Reuters) Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic beat Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-2 in the doubles to give Serbia a 2-1 lead over Australia in their Davis Cup World Group playoff.
Australia took the opening set before the Serbs, roared on by a raucous 20,000 crowd, swung the match their way with a razor-sharp performance by Djokovic.
World doubles number five Zimonjic was slow to find his rhythm and it was Djokovic who turned the tide with powerful serving and a string of superb winners in his first Davis Cup doubles appearance.
Djokovic and Zimonjic took five games in a row from 4-4 in the second set before holding serve comfortably to send the home fans into raptures after two hours 53 minutes of tennis.
World number three Djokovic, who appealed for louder support from the fans after Friday's singles, was delighted.
''I can't describe how I feel right now and this is surely the biggest doubles win of my career,'' he said.
''We want the same kind of atmosphere for the reverse singles on Sunday to finish off the job.'' Djokovic plays Hewitt in the first singles before Janko Tipsarevic takes on Australia's Paul Luczak.
REUTERS GT RK2254
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