Davis Cup: Croatia will play Australia in the Davis Cup semifinals after Spain was eliminated in Malaga by Marin Cilic’s three-set victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
After dropping the first set 7-5, Cilic came back to win the second 6-3. He then overcame a 4-1 deficit in the decisive set tiebreak to win the match 7-5 and end the partisan home crowd’s roars in three hours and thirteen minutes.
The 34-year-old’s victory gave Croatia, the 2021 Davis Cup runners-up to Russia, an unbeatable 2-0 lead and set up a match with Australia on Friday.
Cilic, who defeated Carreno Busta by mixing 20 aces with 15 double faults, said of the team’s outstanding effort: “It’s an incredible effort by the team.”
In the opening match on Wednesday, Borna Coric defeated Roberto Bautista Agut with a score of 6-4 7-6 (7-4) after serving out 12 aces and fending off his sole break point.
In his words: “I enjoy the large stage and the large audience. It increases my motivation. On the serve, I felt excellent, and I believe that was ultimately the deciding factor.”
Australia, the 28-time defending Davis Cup champions, defeated the Netherlands 2-0 on Tuesday to advance to the semi-finals. Both Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur overcame setbacks to win their singles matches in three sets.
De Minaur defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 5-7 6-3 6-4, while Thompson defeated Tallon Griekspoor 4-6 7-5 6-3.
On Thursday, the final two quarterfinal matches—between Germany and 32-time champions Canada, and Italy and Germany—will be played. The winners will play in Saturday’s second semifinal.
Then, on Sunday, the final will take place.
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