Cilic eyes chance to gain some Davis Cup redemption
LILLE, France — Croatia’s Marin Cilic heads into this weekend’s Davis Cup final against reigning champion France bidding to put his woes against Argentina two years ago to bed.
The former US Open champion led Juan Martin del Potro by two sets in the 2016 final in Zagreb with the host only needing one more win for the title. But Croatia slipped to an agonizing loss as Argentina roared back to lift the trophy.
But now Cilic has the chance to claim a first Davis Cup in the final year before the controversial new format is implemented by the ITF.
Croatia is a slight favorite despite having to face France on clay at Lille’s Stade PierreMauroy, with world No 12 Borna Coric supporting the seventh-ranked Cilic.
“Two years ago we were in the lead on the last day and very close to winning it,” said Cilic. “We have a new opportunity. It’s a big challenge and a great motivation.”
France’s leading man is Lucas Pouille, who has slipped out of the world top 10 to No 32, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is struggling to regain full fitness after several nagging injuries.
But Cilic, who also reached the 2017 Wimbledon final and the Australian Open final earlier this year, is wary of a France team that ended a 16-year wait for its 10th Davis Cup crown by beating Belgium 12 months ago.
“It’s hard to say that Croatia is the favorite,” he said. “France is playing at home, in front of their home fans. They have a strong doubles team. It’s a wide-open match.”
One of the keys will be whether the big-hitting Cilic and Coric can adapt to playing on clay after a long hardcourt season.
‘Not a problem’
The 30-year-old Cilic has won only two of his 18 ATP titles on the red dirt, although he reached the French Open quarterfinals the past two years.
“Fatigue is not a problem,” Cilic said. “We have four, five days to prepare. It’s not ideal, we would love to have two or three weeks, but I think it will be enough.”
France’s doubles pairing is not an issue, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut set to reprise the partnership that took them to the final of the season-ending Finals in London.
But although Pouille is likely to get a singles slot alongside Tsonga or Benoit Paire, the top three Frenchmen in the ATP rankings — Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon — are not part of the squad.
“It’s never an easy selection,” said assistant captain and twotime Grand Slam finalist Cedric Pioline. “Just because a player misses out on Friday, it doesn’t mean he won’t be playing on Sunday.”