The 35-year-old Tipsarevic, the 33-year-old Troicki and the 32-year-old Djokovic have gathered for one more group swing at the title. Even if this re-formatted, quick-hitting competition bears scant resemblance to the long-form grandeur of the Davis Cup that Serbia won in 2010, this is the way Tipsarevic wanted to finish: exchanging hugs and jibes with teammates who are also soul mates.

They and their captain, the former doubles star Nenad Zimonjic , have been through more than most together.

The court in Belgrade is back to being a pool. They have all made millions or, in the case of Djokovic, hundreds of millions. But memories remain of the trail they blazed and the odds they beat: the long waits for visas, the search for the funds to keep traveling and progressing.

“Our tennis came out of nothing, came out of the mud,” Tipsarevic said in an interview earlier this year. “It was no grand plan. There was a lot of luck and a lot of talent and sweat.”

He made his Davis Cup debut at age 15, playing for Yugoslavia in a fourth-division, Euro-African zone tie against Monaco in Tunis in May 2000. The stands were mostly empty, which may turn out to be good preparation for his full-circle moment considering how many empty seats there have been so far in Madrid.

But Tipsarevic and Troicki did not seem to mind the echoes inside Center Court on Wednesday as they won the closing doubles match against Japan, after Djokovic had given Serbia an insurmountable 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Yoshihito Nishioka .

Only a few thousand fans stayed in the stadium to watch the doubles, but Tipsarevic still went full tilt and lifted Troicki off the ground in a bear hug after their 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) victory over Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama .