The Davis Cup has a feature: the hosting side chooses the court surface. And everyone try to use this advantage. Though, of course, it is the skill of athletes that decides the outcome of the game. But an additional trump card is never bad. And if Indians or Pakistanis play against guests on grass, and the islanders, both Japanese and New Zealanders play on hard, why not choose the surface they are not used to? Uzbekistan Tennis Federation quite reasonably decided that clay is most suitable surface.

True professionals, Sergey Tishin and Veniamin Varjuntovich laid the court perfects. And after a week of training, Pyotr Lebed’s disciples came to the match against the New Zealanders perfectly ready. Well, as for the mood, Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov have repeatedly proved that they fight for the country's honor with full devotion. Murad Inoyatov showed the same attitude at the Asian Games in Guangzhou. The team skipper had only one choice to make: whom to put on the doubles match, as there were no doubts about who will play in singles on the first day. Today, Istomin and Dustov are the best tennis players in the country.

Dustov was drawn to play the first math against the guest’s top player... Artem Sitak. The Russian recently took New Zealand citizenship, but that was not a real improvement of Marcel Vos’s team as the 25-year-old tennis player barely rose above the top 300 in his career, and now is in the middle of the top 400. It is just that a New Zealand passport is considered one of the most comfortable when moving around the world and Sitak used his opportunity to become its owner.

By the way, the 23-year-old Michael Venus, finalist of last year’s futures in Karshi, has a bit better ranking. But Marcel Vos, assessing the options, decided to keep him or the doubles. Not expecting to beat Denis Istomin, the coach reasonably believed that in case of Sitak’s victory over Dustov, the doubles match of Michael Venus and Marcus Daniel will be the key to winning the whole match. And is so, he would be able to put Venus on the last match instead of Jose Statham...

These calculations, however, seriously wavered after the first set, won by Dustov dry - 6/0. Farrukh played as if he was obsessed by the goal leaving his opponent no chance. Sitak tried to come back early in the second set, but when Dustov won the seventh game on recieving, the outcome of the first match became obvious. Result: 6/0, 6/3, 6/1.

Istomin, surprisingly, had more troubles against Statham than Dustov had in his match: it is not easy for a top player to make himself play at full strength against an opponent, balancing at the border of the fifth hundred in the rankings. “I can say that I controlled the game well and at any point could increase pace if had been a need,” said Denis after his win - 6/2, 6/3, 6/3.

Marcel Vos was right when he linked all hopes for the doubles match - this game was very tense all the way. Replying to the islanders’ captain, Pyotr Lebed decided to replace Inoyatov with Dustov. “Yesterday Farrukh played simply great and had made no mistakes in the first set,” Lebed explained, after the Iranian referee Ali Katebi announced Uzbekistan’s victory with a score of 7/6(5), 6/3, 6/4. “Dennis did well too, and saved strengths for the next match. But the doubles match turned out tough for both. It is good that they managed to make a reverse break after New Zealanders won the fifth game on Istomin’s serve, and won the first set on a tiebreak. By the way, it would be even more difficult to play against Venus on hard. In the second set the guys did not give rivals any chance. And in the third, despite that New Zealanders put up a fight on Farrukh’s serve, our guys led the game to the victory. Well done!”

The already won match was finished by Murad Inoyatov and Vaja Uzakov. The former fought hard with Sitak - 1/6, 7/6(5), 3/6, and said that lack of tournament practice was decisive after the match... Well, and Michael Venus confirmed the words of Pyotr Lebed in the match against Uzakov - 6/3, 6/0.

In the second round in July, the Uzbek team will play away against the Japanese tennis players, who had a very tough away win over the Philippines team.