Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic swept past Oliver Rochus 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 Friday to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over Belgium in the first round of Davis Cup.
Serbia won the opening singles when Viktor Troicki rallied from two sets down to beat David Goffin 1-6, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. Serbia can advance Saturday with a doubles victory.
Djokovic was coming off his third straight Australian Open title. Despite the switch from hard courts to slow, indoor clay, the top-ranked Serb dismissed the 127th-ranked Rochus. Djokovic had complained about the court being too wet and dangerous.
Goffin, ranked 50th and Belgium's top player, easily won the first two sets and could have won had he held serve deep in the third set. But Troicki came back and won the tiebreaker, and had no trouble the rest of the way.
