Serbia host defending champions the Czech Republic in the 2013 Davis Cup Final and British Eurosport will screen all the action exclusively live from Belgrade.
This is the third time in five years that the Czechs have made it to the final and will be boosted by the fact that the match will be contested on their preferred hard court.
They have called up on world number six Tomas Berdych and former world number eight Radek Stepanek to lead their challenge for a second consecutive Davis Cup crown in the Serbian capital.
The home side’s hopes of victory will fall on the shoulders of world number two Novak Djokovic, who has won 26 of his 35 Davis Cup matches.
The six-time Grand Slam winner has a 14-2 record over Berdych and has not lost to Stepanek since 2006.
Djokovic has the opportunity to increase his win streak to 24 this weekend, but even that may not be enough for the home side at what promises to be a raucous atmosphere inside the Belgrade Arena.
The news that Janko Tipsarevic has been forced to pull out due to a right heel injury sustained in Valencia last month is a blow for the hosts, although it provides a chance for his 23-year-old replacement Dusan Lajovic to become a national hero.
Lajovic’s only previous taste of the Davis Cup came in a dead fifth rubber against Sweden in Nis last year.
It is a very different experience to the one he will face on the opening day when he steps on court in front of 15,500 fans to face Tomas Berdych, which follows the opening rubber between Djokovic and Radek Stepanek.
The hosts hope that Lajovic can rise to the occasion in his first ever best-of-five set match.
The world number 117 has lost all four tour-level matches he has played this year, with his last tour victory coming in April 2012 against Russian Evgeny Donskoy.
However, he did win his second Challenger title of the season just two weeks ago in Seoul.
Following his victory in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals against Rafael Nadal in London on Monday night, Djokovic immediately boarded a flight and arrived in Belgrade in the early hours of Tuesday.
He admits that he may not be feeling fully fresh, but is hoping that the support of the crowd can help spur him and his team-mates to a second Davis Cup title in what has become a bit of a fortress for Serbia, having only ever lost one tie at the Belgrade Arena.
It is set to be a long and tough weekend for 34-year-old Stepanek and it could not get off to a much tougher start than taking on the world number two in his own backyard.
Stepanek has only beaten Djokovic once in their nine meetings and that was more than seven years ago in Rotterdam when the Serb was 18 and ranked number 81.
Given that Djokovic is widely reckoned to deliver two points in his singles matches, the doubles rubber on Saturday could well be where the tie is won or lost and Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic has considered fielding his star man on Saturday as well.
While Djokovic comes into the tie with an unbeaten run, the Czechs also have a streak of their own.
It has been 32 months since they lost a tie – to Kazakhstan in March 2011 – but the man who has led them to nine wins in succession is sadly absent.
Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil is at home recovering after being hospitalised last week with a pulmonary embolism.
However, he is keeping in regular contact with stand-in skipper Vladimir Safarik, a former coach who now finds himself on the team bench after helping to organise Davis Cup ties for 14 years.
A thrilling final between two evenly matched nations is expected to unfold over the course of the weekend as the 2013 tennis season comes to a conclusion.
British Eurosport will broadcast exclusive live coverage of the finale to the 2013 Davis Cup from Belgrade.
All five matches are set to be shown live and in full on British Eurosport and in high-definition on British Eurosport HD.
Rob Curling presents the channel’s extended coverage of the event alongside former world number two Greg Rusedski and Jamie Baker, who will be the guests in the studio throughout the weekend.
Commentary duties will be shared between Simon Reed, Chris Bradnam and Frew McMillan.
Tennis fans can also watch the action online via the broadcaster’s subscription service Eurosport Player.
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Friday 15th September
Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)
LIVE: 2.30pm-7.30pm British Eurosport
Saturday 16th November
Bozoljac / Zimonjic (SRB) v Hajek / Rosol (CZE)
LIVE: 2.30pm-5.45pm British Eurosport
Sunday 17th November
Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)
LIVE: 12.30pm-5.30pm British Eurosport
