Cilic, Coric script upset win for Croatia

Not many would have given Croatia any chance to win both the reverse singles matches on Sunday and cause an upset against the United States. But Marin Cilic and Borna Coric had other ideas and captain Zeliko Krajan’s faith players for staging a comeback paid off. 

“I knew they were going to bring the quality,” Krajan said on Sunday. Cilic started the improbable, beating John Isner 7-6 (11-9), 6-3, 6-4 and then Coric defeated Jack Sock 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The US lost for the fourth time in 161 attempts after leading 2-0 lead in a Davis Cup tie. 

After the United States swept the singles matches Friday, Cilic and Ivan Dodig kept Croatia alive on Saturday with a four-set victory over twins Bob and Mike Bryan in doubles. 

Croatia will host France at the World Group semi-finals from September 16-18. Croatia reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2009. They won their only Davis Cup title in 2005. France beat Czech Republic 3-1 in a quarter-final. 

Cilic set the tone for the comeback against Isner, a decision that was closer than the score indicated. Cilic won a marathon tiebreaker in the opening set, then broke Isner’s serve once in the next two sets to pull out the win. 

The 19-year-old Coric seems to relish his role as a finisher. It was the second time this year Coric won a fifth and deciding match to win a Davis Cup tie. Britain meet Argentina in the other semi-final.