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.

Hiroki Moriya ended a four-match skid in style, streaking to the title at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Nanchang, China. The Tecnifibre player did not drop a set before rallying to defeat fourth seed Hyeon Chung 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday.

Moriya was appearing in his first final in more than two years, when he claimed his maiden Challenger title on the hard courts of Granby, Canada in 2014. The 25-year-old Japanese is closing in on a return to the Top 150 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, rising more than 50 spots to a projected World No. 166.

“I didn’t expect to win the championship here when I got to Nanchang,” said Moriya. “I fought for every match and I am very happy with my performance this week. This is my second visit here in Nanchang and I love this city and now I have some nice memories to share with my family.”

It marks the second straight week a Tecnifibre player has won a title, following Daniil Medvedev’s victory in Saint-Remy, France. Medvedev is vying for $50,000 in the Young Guns On The Road competition. Learn More

Meanwhile, #NextGen star Chung was appearing in his first tournament in four months after suffering an abdominal injury. He is looking to return to the Top 100 after falling to No. 145.

Morocco Tennis Tour Meknes (Meknes, Morocco): Maximilian Marterer won his first ATP Challenger Tour title on Saturday in Meknes, defeating Uladzimir Ignatik 7-6(3), 6-3 in 90 minutes. The eighth seed was dominant all week, not dropping a set, while saving an impressive 22 of 23 break points faced. He is the seventh different player from Germany to lift a trophy this year, joining Florian Mayer, Tobias Kamke, Michael Berrer, Mischa Zverev, Dustin Brown and Jan-Lennard Struff.

GREAT BRITAIN 1, ARGENTINA 2
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)

Defending champion Great Britain kept their Davis Cup title defence alive behind a strong performance from Andy Murray and Jamie Murray in Saturday’s doubles action. The Murrays turned aside Juan Martin del Potro and Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, giving the Brits hope for a stunning comeback from 0-2 down.

Andy, who was defeated by Del Potro in a five-set thriller in Friday’s singles at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, got his revenge on the Argentine. He and brother Jamie notched the win after two hours and 55 minutes, converting five of 13 break points, while firing 44 total winners.

“The atmosphere was brilliant,” said Jamie. “From the first point to the last, the crowd was something else. As I said on the court, it’s a huge privilege to be able to play with Andy in Scotland and have that amount of support behind us.

“We played a great match, we had to. Those guys were playing really well too. We knew they weren’t going to shy away from the occasion and the atmosphere. I think we should be really proud of the way we played and competed from start to finish. It gives us momentum going into tomorrow’s matches.”

The Murrays have now won five straight doubles matches together in Davis Cup play, going back to last year’s quarter-finals. The British stalwarts converted their first match point, breaking Mayer’s serve to love in the final game.

Great Britain are seeking to become the 11th team to come back from 0-2 down in the World Group and record their seventh straight tie victory. They will turn to Murray and either Daniel Evans or #NextGen star Kyle Edmund to provide the heroics on Sunday.

CROATIA 2, FRANCE 1
Venue: Kresimir Cosic Hall, Zadar, CRO (hard – indoor)

Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the No. 1 team in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, were no match for Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig, as the Croatians claimed Saturday’s crucial doubles rubber 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3 in Zadar.

Croatia leads France 2-1, with Cilic set to play a blockbuster reverse singles rubber against Richard Gasquet on Sunday. A win would send the Eastern European squad into just its second Davis Cup final. Croatia became the first unseeded nation to win the title in 2005, when it defeated Slovakia 3-2.

Cilic and Dodig prevailed on Saturday after three hours and 47 minutes. The tandem withstood an offensive onslaught from their top-ranked opponents, who fired 12 aces and 44 total winners. But the Croatians were clutch when it mattered, staving off five of six break points.

After saving a set point in taking the third set in a tie-break, Cilic and Dodig claimed the decisive break in the third game of the fourth and would seal the match with a break to love. The team ticked their second straight victory over an decorated duo, following a four-set upset of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in July’s quarter-final win over the United States.

The wait is over. Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal secured Spain’s return to the Davis Cup World Group after a two-year hiatus, giving the European nation an unassailable 3-0 lead over India on Saturday in New Delhi. Lopez and Nadal prevailed 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 over Saketh Myneni and Leander Paes, converting five of 12 break chances for the win after three hours and 23 minutes. It was a team effort for the Spanish side, which capitalised on singles victories by stalwarts Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer on Friday. The win denies Paes’ bid to become the all-time winningest doubles player in Davis Cup history. The 43 year old is tied with Nicola Pietrangeli with 42 wins.

“For us, it was a very important after two years being away from the World Group,” said Nadal. “It’s important for us to come back to where we think we have to be. But the Indian team is a great team and I want to say many thanks to all the fans here in India. For me, it is a very special country and it is a place that is very close to my heart.”

Kei Nishikori and Yuichi Sugita turned in a dominant performance to keep Japan afloat in the World Group, downing Ukraine’s Artem Smirnov and Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 on Saturday. The efficient one-hour and 38-minute victory in Osaka gave the Japanese side an insurmountable 3-0 lead, as they maintain their three-year stay in the World Group. The win comes on the heels of singles victories by Taro Daniel and #NextGen star Yoshihito Nishioka on Friday.

Australia also returned to the World Group with an unassailable 3-0 lead of their own, as the duo of Sam Groth and John Peers overcame Slovakia’s Andrej Martin and Igor Zelenay 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(2) on Saturday on the grass of Sydney. The Aussies fired 17 aces to prevail after two hours and 21 minutes. The Lleyton Hewitt led squad is back in the World Group for the third straight year.

In Ostend, Belgium, Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore provided the upset of the day in stunning Brazilian doubles stalwarts Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in five gripping sets. The Belgians move on to the World Group with a 3-0 lead after Bemelmans and De Loore rallied for a 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in three hours and 22 minutes. Melo and Soares had a combined 25 doubles wins in Davis Cup play entering the week, compared to just five for their Belgian opponents. Meanwhile, Canada joined Australia, Belgium, Japan and Spain in the 2017 World Group after Vasek Pospisil and Adil Shamasdin defeated Chile’s Nicolas Jarry and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(6).

Having won both singles rubbers on Friday, Germany were one set from a World Group return after Daniel Brands and Daniel Masur took a 7-6(5), 6-4 lead on Saturday, but Poland would stave off relegation in dramatic fashion. Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski stormed back to take the match 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in Berlin, extending the tie. World Group newcomers Poland will turn to Kamil Majchrzak and Hubert Hurkacz in Sunday’s reverse singles. Germany, meanwhile, are looking to extend its stay in the top tier to 12 years.

No Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, no problem for Switzerland, as the European nation moved one step closer to returning to the World Group for a sixth straight year. Severin Luthi’s side took a 2-1 lead over Uzbekistan on Saturday, as Adrien Bossel and Henri Laaksonen downed Farrukh Dustov and Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(2) in two hours and 18 minutes. The Swiss saved all five break points faced to edge ahead in Tashkent.

It will be a busy Sunday at the National Tennis Center in Moscow, after rain washed out singles play on Friday and bad light halted proceedings on Saturday between Russia and Kazakhstan. Andrey Kuznetsov gave the hosts the lead with a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win over Aleksandr Nedovyesov, but the second singles rubber was suspended due to darkness prior to the fifth set. Evgeny Donskoy and Mikhail Kukushkin are tied at two sets apiece after three hours and 22 minutes.