Japan bowed out of the Davis Cup Finals on Wednesday, going down to Serbia a day after opening its Group A campaign with a loss to France.
Filip Krajinovic beat Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 6-4 in the opening singles rubber at Madrid's La Caja Magica before world No. 2 Novak Djokovic dispatched Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-2.
Nishioka on Tuesday beat France's Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-2 to level the tie at 1-1 following Yasutaka Uchiyama's 6-2, 6-1 loss to Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga. But the French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut overcame Japan's Ben McLachlan and Uchiyama 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the doubles rubber to claim a 2-1 victory.