Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek rallied to defeat Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.

Djokovic skipped Friday's opening singles because he was still tired after losing the US Open final to Rafael Nadal on Monday. He entered the doubles but did not make much difference, losing his serve in the final game of the match.

He will have to win his match against Czech No. 1 Berdych on Sunday to keep alive Serbia's hopes of reaching its first Davis Cup final.

Berdych beat Djokovic to reach the Wimbledon final, but the Serb has won the other two matches between them.

“We played as a team today,” Berdych said. “I didn't feel that good after yesterday and after we lost the first set, but we had a good atmosphere on the court and I got better and better.” Berdych lost Friday's second singles to Janko Tipsarevic.

He also looked shaky early in the doubles, dropping his serve in the first set that went to Serbia.

But the Czechs regrouped and it was Zimonjic, who is ranked No. 3 in the world in the doubles, who couldn't hold serve in the two middle sets.

Djokovic was the first to drop his serve in the fourth, then Zimonjic could not hold to give the Czechs a decisive 4-1 lead. Djokovic was broken for the second time in the final game as Berdych hit a passing shot on match point.

“I am definitely pleased how we played, we had great team spirit. We didn't go down mentally even after losing the first set,” said Stepanek, who beat Viktor Troicki in the opening singles.

“This will surely give us a lot of positive energy for tomorrow,” Stepanek said.

If Djokovic wins on Sunday, it will be up to Stepanek to beat Tipsarevic and take the Czech Republic to its second straight Davis Cup final. The Czechs lost to Spain last year.

In the second semifinal, France took an unassailable 3-0 over Argentina and has advanced to the final.