Bob Bryan and John Isner defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (8), 6-3, in doubles to keep the United States alive in the Davis Cup first-round match in Belgrade, cutting Serbia's lead to 2-1.
Isner was a last-minute replacement for Bryan's twin Mike, who was ruled out with food poisoning. The Bryans are the top-ranked doubles team.
Isner, who made his Davis Cup debut Friday, will try to even the series today when he plays second-ranked Novak Djokovic in the first reverse singles on an indoor clay court at Belgrade Arena. Sam Querrey is set to play the final singles match against Viktor Troicki.
Serbia is trying to advance beyond the first round in the World Group for the first time.
In other Davis Cup matches, France, Croatia and the Czech Republic advanced to the quarterfinals with insurmountable 3-0 leads. Spain, Russia and Argentina lead, 2-1, and play today.
Chile swept Israel 2-0 in opening singles, which were delayed a day because of the earthquake and tsunami.
Lindsey Vonn won her third consecutive downhill title and tied Bode Miller for the most career World Cup victories by an American at 32. She defeated Johanna Schnarf of Italy by a mere 0.01 seconds in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in her first race since the Vancouver Olympics, where she won gold in the downhill. Vonn finished the Nationale downhill course in 1:35.26.
Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps came within a half second of the U.S. record in the 200-yard individual medley, winning in 1:40.58 in the Maryland swimming championships at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Phelps had been scheduled to swim in two events, but chose to drop out of the 500 freestyle to concentrate on the 200IM after swimming a 1:43.99 in his qualifying heat.
A ninth-inning rally by Pitt team fell short as the Panthers (7-2) dropped a 9-6 decision at Coastal Carolina (9-1) in Day 2 of the Caravelle Resorts Invitational in Conway, S.C. Sean Toole had a run-scoring single and a two-run double for Pitt.
Oregon kicker Rob Beard pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of physical harassment in a Jan. 24 street fight that left him seriously injured. Beard, 19, was so drunk that he doesn't remember shoving a woman to the ground before he was beaten unconscious by two men who intervened on her behalf.
Hundreds of sled dogs and thousands of fans lined up along Anchorage's Fourth Avenue for the ceremonial start of the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska. The 16-dog teams leaped and barked when it was their turn to leave the downtown chute for an 11-mile run across Alaska's largest city. The actual competition will start today in Willow, about 50 miles to the north. Defending champion Lance Mackey is seeking his fourth consecutive win.
Awesome Act rallied to beat Yawanna Twist by 1 1/4 lengths in the $250,000 Gotham Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct in New York. It was the second consecutive race in the United States for Awesome Act, who started his career in England.
Ashley Cockell had two goals as top-ranked Mercyhurst (29-2-3) defeated Syracuse (18-17-1), 3-1, for the College Hockey America championship in Detroit.
Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.