Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic will play Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the opening singles match of the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

The seventh-ranked Berdych has a 2-1 record against the 27th-ranked Troicki from their meetings in ATP tournaments, but this is the first time they will play on clay courts, and the Czechs hope the slower surface will work in their favour.

“The Davis Cup is something different,” Berdych said.

“I hope that clay is for him the worst surface but can hardly rely on that. The most important for me is to play my game and be aggressive.”

Berdych is hoping a victory in the first singles will help ease the nerves of his teammates for the rest of the weekend. Radek Stepanek will face Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, who this week reached his highest ranking at No.8, in the second singles match on Friday.

“It would be an advantage for Radek because that would put Tipsarevic under pressure,” Berdych said.

“That would be an ideal situation.”

Tipsarevic helped Serbia ovcercome the Czechs in their last Davis Cup meeting in Belgrade in 2010, beating both Berdych and Stepanek as Serbia won 3-2 en route to the country’s first title.

Serbia is missing top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who opted to take a rest before he opens his clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters on April 14, but Tipsarevic thinks his team still has a good chance of advancing.

“Every match is pretty open,” Tipsarevic said. “Everybody knows (Stepanek) is a great Davis Cup competitor because he plays really well and gives everything he has for his country.”

Czech pair Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Rosol have been selected to play Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic in Saturday’s doubles, but captain Jaroslav Navratil is expected to bring in Berdych and Stepanek who are 9-1 in the Davis Cup doubles. Changes are also possible for the Serbian pair.

The winner of the best-of-five series will face Argentina or Croatia in September’s semi-finals.