Isner to face No. 1 Djokovic in Davis Cup in Boise

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic with play John Isner in the first match Friday of the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Serbia and the United States.

Sam Querrey, the top-ranked American at No. 20, will face Viktor Troicki in the second match, based on the draw announced Thursday. The top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan will take on Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac on Saturday.

Djokovic shrugged off the suggestion that his presence on the team makes Serbia the favorite over the weekend.

"I think there is no clear favorite in this competition, especially in later stages of quarterfinals," Djokovic said. "USA is always going to be a difficult opponent, especially if they're choosing the conditions and location of play.

"They have chosen Boise (Idaho) that has over 800 meters altitude that can help the service. We all know that John and Sam possess great serves, as well as Mike and Bob."

Djokovic holds a 2-1 winning record over Isner, but the American won their last match in the 2012 Indian Wells semifinals.

"We're both going to have to play well if we want to give our team a lead tomorrow," Isner said. "We have to go out there and believe we're going to be good enough."

In the reverse singles on Sunday, Querrey and Djokovic will play the first match, followed by Isner and Troicki.

Djokovic leads Querrey 5-1 in previous matches, including a straight sets win in the Indian Wells third round last month.

This is only the second time that the US and Serbia have met in Davis Cup competition. The last time they played in 2010, Serbia defeated the US 3-2 in the first round in Belgrade. The Serbians went on to win their only Davis Cup title that year.

The US has won a record 32 Davis Cup titles, but has not been dominant in recent years. The Americans have not won the title since 2007 when they defeated Russia 4-1 in the final.

The winner of the tie between the US and Serbia will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Canada and Italy taking place in Vancouver this weekend.