Aussies share spoils in Davis Cup

Loss ... Marinko Matosevic fell to Dennis Istomin in four sets. Source: Mark Humphrey / AP

Marinko Matosevic responded to his selection ahead of Lleyton Hewitt with his best Davis Cup performance but still fell short of victory as honours were split on the first day against Uzbekistan.

After Bernard Tomic got Australia off to a winning start in Namangan by beating Farrukh Dustov, a gallant Matosevic couldn't follow suit in a tense 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-4 loss to Uzbek No.1 Denis Istomin on Friday.

It left the must-win clay court tie square at 1-1 and Davis Cup legend Hewitt once again shapes as the key as Australia aim to progress to the World Group playoffs in September.

The 32-year-old will team up with Matt Ebden in doubles against Istomin and Dustov on Saturday and he looks likely to replace Matosevic in a potentially decisive reverse singles match on Sunday.

Australian captain Pat Rafter had surprisingly given unproven Matosevic the nod to compete on the first day, with Hewitt missing the opening singles for only the second time in his record 15-year career in the competition.

And despite the loss Rafter stood by his decision and was delighted with how Matosevic pushed Istomin, ranked four places higher at 46, to the limits ahead of the doubles.

"Marinko played by far his best Davis Cup match. He was very, very good against a very solid player,'' Rafter told AAP.

"All in all it was a really good day.

"It would have been great to be up 2-0 but 1-all is not a bad scoreline and pushing Istomin the way he did was really good.

"We didn't want to take it out Lleyton of today, he's got a big match tomorrow and that match is really important.''

The performance at a packed Pahlavon Sport Complex means Australia's bid to earn a shot at returning to the top 16 for the first time since 2007 remains alive.

Tomic marked his return to the team with a hard-fought 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-4 win over Dustov, whose performance belied his ranking of 216.

Having been dropped for the last tie against Taiwan due to attitude problems, Rafter had challenged the 20-year-old Tomic to prove his commitment to Australia's cause through his on-court attitude in Namangan.

And the former US Open winner would have been delighted with what he saw in the first set.

Despite taking issue with some early calls and trailing 5-3, Tomic remained focused, clawing back on level terms and winning the first set in a tense tiebreak.

From there he always seemed in control against his 196cm opponent, although the pair traded breaks several times in the final set.

"I think I lost a bit of my concentration and maybe should have won it more easily,'' Tomic said.

"But a win is a win and I am happy I won and got my team up in the tie.''

Matosevic was made to pay for one poor service game in the first set before being easily accounted for in the second set tiebreak.

He showed guts to claim the third with two breaks but the ultra-solid Istomin broke late in the fourth and served it out.

Uzbekistan are unbeaten in six Davis Cup ties at the venue.

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Aussies share spoils in Davis Cup

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