Croatian ace Cilic finds redemption at Davis Cup

Triumph over Pouille provides margin of victory for global team tennis honours

LILLE, FRANCE After an agonizing defeat in Croatia’s previous Davis Cup final, there was no letdown for Marin Cilic this time.

Two years ago in Zagreb, Cilic was two sets up against Juan Martin del Potro with Croatia leading Argentina 2-1 on the final day. Then his game collapsed, as the South Americans fought back and ultimately won the final.

This weekend in northern France, Cilic did not give even a glimmer of hope to his French opponents that they could stage a comeback of their own.

On the indoor clay court set up inside the Lille soccer stadium and in front of a hostile crowd, the former U.S. Open champion was ruthless and composed. His clinical display on Sunday secured a 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-3 win over Lucas Pouille to give Croatia a 3-1 victory over defending champion France in the best-of-five series. Both teams agreed not to play the final rubber.

Cilic said his loss to Del Potro hadn’t been a distraction but he was relieved to finally add the Davis Cup to his list of trophies.

“I was always sleeping well, so no problem, but I’m happy that I played so well this weekend,” the 30-year-old Cilic said.

While Argentina was able to fight back, the French didn’t have the weapons required. The hosts won the doubles but were thrashed in straight sets in the three singles matches played against Cilic and Borna Coric.

“Look at the statistics from Borna and I; in three matches we did not lose a serve. It says much about our level and how well we played,” said Cilic, who finally tasted success in the team event 12 years after his debut. “We were both in a great form at the right time.”

After beating Pouille, Cilic was surrounded by the Croatian team on the court and covered his shoulders with the Croatian flag. The country’s president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, warmly hugged him.

“It’s not every day that you become a world champion,” Cilic said. “For us, it’s a dream come true, for this nation, we are so passionate, you can see the fans. And I feel that in Croatia it’s going to be incredible, too.”

After Nicolas Mahut and PierreHugues Herbert won Saturday’s doubles, France trailed 2-1 and needed to win both reverse singles.

But their hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed.

The seventh-ranked Cilic struggled with his first serve in the opening set but gradually found his rhythm while Pouille started well but quickly faded. He made repeated mistakes on his backhand hitting 44 unforced errors, compared to Cilic’s 29.

The Frenchman managed to stay in contention on the back of his strong serve and some clever drop shots that surprised Cilic, but his Croat rival raised his level in the tiebreaker. Cilic won four straight points to seal the set, including a thunderous forehand pass that left Pouille stranded.

Pouille’s level of play then dropped drastically while Cilic kept up the intensity and broke for a 4-2 lead in the second set. Pouille managed to save four set points in the eight game with a series of good serves before Cilic held his next service game to seal the set with a cross-court forehand.

The Frenchman saved two match points at 5-3 but was forced to watch when Cilic unleashed a superb lob that secured another break and the title.