Coric, Cilic give Croatia Davis Cup lead over US

zadar — Borna Coric pulled off a through-the-legs lob shot winner that drew bows from the crowd in the Davis Cup semifinals on Friday.

Early in the third set of a 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Steve Johnson, Coric ran down a lob and replied with a shot known as a “tweener” that flew over the head of his 6-foot-2 (1.88-metre) opponent and landed within inches of the baseline.

Later, sixth-ranked Marin Cilic gave Croatia a 2-0 lead over the United States with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Davis Cup debutant Frances Tiafoe.

Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire who penalised Serena Williams in the US Open final, officiated the second match without incident.

The 21-year-old Coric, considered one of the top up-and-coming players in the game, said he had never before even come close to landing such a difficult shot.

“I normally go somehow around my back,” he said. “But I just felt that I can do it. It was not such an important point, so I just did it. Honestly I never do it in practice as well, so I don’t know how it was that good, to be honest. It was really luck.

In Tokyo, Japan took a commanding 2-0 lead on the first day of their Davis Cup World Cup playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday despite the absence of US Open semi-finalist Kei Nishikori.

World number 72 Taro Daniel put Japan in charge of the tie, crushing Tomislav Brkic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6. Yoshihito Nishioka punched about his weight in the second match as the world number 170 thrashed 79th-ranked Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to give Japan a huge advantage going into Saturday’s doubles. —