By Chris Oddo | Sunday July 17, 2016
Borna Coric capped off a comeback for the ages as Croatia defeated the Americans from 0-2 down in Portland.
Photo Source: AP
It was in the bag. Then it wasn’t.
Croatia crawled out of an 0-2 hole for the first time in their Davis Cup history, handing the Americans a disappointing 3-2 loss in front of their home fans in Beaverton, Oregon on Sunday. It was a stunning collapse for the Americans, who had the winningest doubles team in Davis Cup history set to lock down a sweep on Saturday in front of a stars and stripes-clad contingent, but could not find a way to notch another point against a determined band of Croatians.
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Marin Cilic, who suffered a demoralizing five-set defeat to Jack Sock on Friday, turned up like a man on a mission on Saturday as he and Ivan Dodig upended the Bryan Brothers in four to set the dominoes in motion.
Cilic could have hung his head after suffering consecutive losses in which he led two sets to love, but he backed the decision to play doubles on Saturday and wreaked havoc on the Bryans.
“I can lift my game when I'm playing like this,” Cilic said on Saturday. “I usually enjoy to play in Davis Cup because the team atmosphere, the energy, lifts my game up. Hopefully tomorrow I can do the same.”
Still, the U.S. owned a 38-2 record in ties in which they led 2-1 since the Davis Cup World Group was formed in 1981.
But Cilic was in a good frame of mind despite the odds on Sunday and he rummaged through Isner’s world-class service game with his menacing attack on high to give Croatia hope.
Isner had his chances in the first set, but fell in a tight tiebreaker after squandering his only break point. The American, who had cruised past Coric with ease on Friday, said he knew it would be an uphill battle against the former U.S. Open champion after that.
“I knew it was going to be a tough task,” he said, after falling 0-6 against Cilic lifetime. “He was going to be feeling pretty confident because he played very well yesterday in the doubles. I felt like he carried that over today in the singles.”
In the fifth rubber, American Jack Sock would be asked to reproduce his magic of Friday when he engineered his stunning comeback against Cilic. But it would be Coric who had all the magic on Sunday, as Sock appeared to be unprepared for the challenge of backing up his heroics. The 19-year-old took the play to Sock for much of the match, and despite struggling on his numerous break opportunities (he was five for 20 on the day), he wore Sock down with a focused, meticulous ground game and finally struck the decisive blow at 4-4 in the fourth set before serving out the improbable comeback.
The Americans had not lost a Davis Cup tie from 2-0 up since 1994, but they were left to ponder a bitter defeat, walking off the court as the Croatian team formed a celebration circle on court before pulling out the flag for more photo ops.
“I just like big stage more, when it's more important,” Coric said afterwards. “When I have more pressure, you know, when the expectations are big, I like those occasions. I think that's what we're training for. That's what I like. That's what I enjoy.”
Coric finished with 27 winners to just 13 from Sock. He didn’t let the American’s big forehand do too much damage and as the match approached the three-hour mark he looked to be by far the fresher player.
"That's tennis,” Sock said. “Some days it's firing and feels great; some days they're missing a little bit. Credit to him. He played a great match. First point to last played solid and deserved it today.”
For its effort, Croatia will be rewarded with a home tie against France in September in the Davis Cup semifinals. They had played ten of their last 11 on the road. The other semifinal will feature Great Britain and Argentina, with the Brits hosting.