Coric helps Croatia beat US in semis
ZADAR Borna Coric sealed Croatia’s passage into the final of the Davis Cup with a thrilling win in five sets over USA’s Frances Tiafoe in the deciding fifth rubber of the semifinal tie on Sunday.
In a match that lasted four hours and six minutes, Coric edged out Tiafoe 6-7 (0), 6-1, 6-7 (11), 6-1, 6-3.
In the title clash, Croatia will take on France, who defeated Spain 3-2 in the other semi-final.
Earlier, substitute Sam Querrey rallied from a deep hole to keep the United States alive.
The American, who was playing in place of Steve Johnson, beat sixth-ranked Marin Cilic 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to even the best-of-five series at 2-2.
After winning the opening set, Cilic wasted a 6-1 lead in the second-set tiebreak then completely fell apart with a series of errors under pressure from the big-serving Querrey.
Chair umpire Carlos Ramos issued a code violation to Croatia after Cilic slammed his racket to the clay and mangled the frame late in the third set. Since it was the first violation of the match, it was only a warning. No points were deducted and Cilic did not exchange any words with Ramos, who gave Serena Williams three code violations in US Open final.
“It’s one of the best matches of my career,” Querrey said.
US got a lifeline on Saturday when Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison defeated Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic in doubles.
INDIA LOSE 4-0
KRALJEVO (SERBIA): Turning out to play the dead fourth rubber, N Sriram Balaji lost to Pedja Krstin 3-6, 1-6 as India ended the Davis World Group Play-off tie against Serbia losing 0-4. The hosts had taken an unassailable 3-0 lead on Saturday. The two sides agreed not to play the fifth rubber.