Cilic beats Pouille as Croatia win Davis Cup final

Posted: Nov 25, 2018

Marin Cilic beat Lucas Pouille in straight sets to secure Croatia’s second-ever Davis Cup title.

Cilic beat Pouille 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 to give them an unassailable 3-1 lead over hosts and defending champions France.

France had pushed the final into a third day after Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert won Saturday’s doubles rubber.

“It’s not every day that you become a world champion,” 30-year-old Cilic said.

“For us it’s a dream come true, for this nation. You can see the fans are so passionate and they are here enjoying themselves. In Croatia it’s going to be incredible too.”

This is the final staging of the team competition in its current format before it changes next year.

Croatia last won the competition in 2005.

Cilic’s victory on Sunday meant the scheduled fifth match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Borna Coric was a dead rubber.

Coric won his other singles rubber against Jeremy Chardy, while Chilic put Croatia 2-0 up by beating Tsonga.

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Cilic Clinches Second Davis Cup Crown For Croatia

Posted: Nov 25, 2018

Cilic Clinches Second Davis Cup Crown For Croatia

Nov252018

Visiting nation notched three straight-sets singles wins

FRANCE 1, CROATIA 3
Lille, France (Indoor Clay)

Marin Cilic ended Croatia’s 13-year wait for a second Davis Cup title on Sunday, beating Lucas Pouille 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.

The World No. 7 needed two hours and 19 minutes to secure victory for the visiting nation, winning 89 per cent of first-serve points and landing 16 forehand winners. Cilic has now won a record 39 Davis Cup rubbers for Croatia (39-17), which includes 29 wins from 40 singles encounters.

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

Cilic ends his season with 44 tour-level wins for the second straight year. The World No. 7 lifted his 18th tour-level title at the Fever-Tree Championships in June, saving one championship point to overcome Novak Djokovic. Cilic has claimed at least one tour-level title in each of the past 11 ATP World Tour seasons.

After falling to a 3-2 loss against Argentina in the 2016 final, Croatia was appearing in its third Davis Cup final. In 2005, Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic led Croatia to its maiden title in the team competition against Slovakia in Bratislava.

France was aiming to become only the second team ever to recover from a 2-0 deficit in a Davis Cup final. Captain Yannick Noah’s decision to replace Jeremy Chardy with Lucas Pouille proved to be unsuccessful, with Pouille falling short in his attempt to recreate his 2017 final heroics. Last year, the 24-year-old defeated Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 in his first live fifth rubber to earn France its 10th Davis Cup title.

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