Djokovic pulls Serbia level with Croatia in Davis Cup semis

Novak Djokovic pulled Serbia even with Croatia at 1-1 in their Davis Cup semifinal by beating Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.

The 20-time grand slam winner will try to clinch Serbia a berth in the final by playing in the deciding doubles.

Djokovic evened it up on the Madrid indoor hard court after

Borna Gojo won the opening singles against Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The top-ranked Djokovic is slated to team with Nikola Cacic to take on Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the world's topranked pair.

The first set of the second singles was tightly contested until

Djokovic forced a break point with a winner at the net. Cilic then made his first mistake when he double-faulted to fall behind.

Cilic almost hit right back, but Djokovic went up a set when he saved four break points during an exhilarating game that closed after Cilic hit long.

Djokovic cruised through the second set, thrilling the crowd with winners and an extraordinary defensive lob that landed in the corner and forced Cilic into swatting the ball wide.

Earlier, the 279th-ranked Gojo outplayed Lajovic after the Serb rallied from 4-1 down to take the first set. Gojo broke Lajovic's serve five times to give his team the early advantage.

Serbia and Croatia are meeting in the Davis Cup for the third time since they became independent nations following the breakup of Yugoslavia. Serbia won the previous two.

Russia will face Germany on Saturday in the other semifinal.