Cilic Carries Croatia Into Davis Cup Final; Murray Forces A Decider

CROATIA 3, FRANCE 1
Venue: Kresimir Cosic Hall, Zadar, CRO (hard – indoor)

World No. 11 Marin Cilic was the hero for Croatia on Sunday, sending the Eastern European nation into its second Davis Cup Final. Cilic, who won both his singles rubbers and teamed with Ivan Dodig to take Saturday’s doubles clash, clinched the tie 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 over Richard Gasquet.

Croatia defeated France 3-1 to return to the Davis Cup Final for the first time in 11 years, when Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic guided them to their lone title in 2005. They became the first unseeded nation to win the title then and will look to replicate the feat this year against either Great Britain or Argentina.

“When you look at the atmosphere, it’s an incredible feeling,” said Cilic. “It’s been a dream weekend for us. I played incredible tennis. I produced a great performance for all the crowd. I can’t be more proud than right now.

“We have always been playing well in Davis Cup. It’s something that’s in your heart. If we can play the final at home it would be an amazing spectacle.”

On Sunday, Cilic was dominant on the fast hard court in Zadar. He sealed the tie with forehand approach winner into the open court after two hours and 14 minutes. In total, the 27 year old fired 21 winners, including 14 aces, while converting six of nine break chances.

Cilic levels the FedEx ATP Head2Head against Gasquet at 2-2, having dropped their first two encounters. The Croatian has since won two in a row this year, including a three-set victory at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He has been on a tear in recent months, after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals and claiming his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati.

GREAT BRITAIN 2, ARGENTINA 2
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)

Andy Murray has put Great Britain on the brink of a historic comeback on the indoor hard court at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. The Brit routed Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to force a deciding fifth rubber on Sunday. Murray rebounded nicely after suffering his first home defeat in Davis Cup singles on Friday (l. to Del Potro), ending a 20-match win streak.

“It feels great,” said Murray. “We were in a lot of trouble a few days ago, but this is the best we can hope for. I hope we can get the job done.”

Great Britain will turn to Daniel Evans to complete the 0-2 comeback, while Argentina counters with Leonardo Mayer. It will be a tough task, with Mayer owning a 10-3 singles record in Davis Cup play and coming off title run at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Manerbio, Italy less than a month ago.

Evans enters in strong form as well, after claiming a Challenger title of his own in Aptos, U.S.A. in early August and pushing eventual champion Stan Wawrinka to five sets in the US Open third round.

Evans is bidding to secure just the 11th comeback from 0-2 down in World Group history. The defending champion Brits are also seeking to capture their seventh consecutive tie victory.