By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, November 23, 2018
Marin Cilic did not drop serve dismissing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in staking Croatia to a commanding 2-0 lead over defending-champion France in the Davis Cup final in Lille.
Photo credit: Davis Cup Facebook
A blue wave of more than 19,000 fans washed cheers over the French squad ahead of today's Davis Cup final.
A red storm of serving aggression muted the home crowd powering Croatia to the brink of its second Davis Cup championship.
Watch: Coric Crushes Chardy in Davis Cup Opener
A dynamic Marin Cilic did not drop serve dismantling Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, to give Croatia a commanding 2-0 lead over France in the best-of-five-match Davis Cup final on the red clay of Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.
Cilic pumped 12 aces, won 91 percent of his first-serve points and erased all five break points he faced in a comprehensive win over an opponent who took a nine-minute medical time-out midway through the third set and returned limping a bit.
"We had to play our best and fortunately we did," Cilic said. "We produced incredible tennis. First Borna [Coric] started incrediblly well... For me, against Jo, the first two sets were high level. It was definitely important to keep my serve and keep my pressure.
"A little bit of bad luck for Jo at the end, he had a problem with the back, but still I had to finish it off."
Croatia can clinch its second Davis Cup—and first since 2005—by winning doubles tomorrow afternon. Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic are slated to face France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, though either captain can insert substitutes.
France was flying high on emotion in captain Yannick Noah's farewell tie.
But by the end of opening day Tsonga was hobbled by an apparent groin injury and defending Davis Cup champion France was teetering on the edge of its first loss since it bowed to host Croatia, 3-2, in the 2016 semifinals.
The mood faded from blue to bleak in Lille.
Only 10 nations have ever successfully rallied from an 0-2 deficit in the history of Davis Cup World Group play. And in the 118-year Davis Cup history only one nation has ever fought back from 0-2 down to win a Davis Cup final.
That happened way back in 1939 when an Australian squad led by John Bromwich and Adrian Quist stormed back to shock the host United States, 3-2.
In a rematch of the World Cup final, Croatia's best were just too good for France.
Croatia swept all six sets played and did not surrender serve today as 12th-ranked Borna Coric crushed Jeremy Chardy, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 in the opener.
Noah opted to start the 40th-ranked Chardy ahead of 32nd-ranked Lucas Pouille, who clinched France's 3-2 victory over Belgium in the 2017 Davis Cup final, and paid the price.
The veteran Tsonga, who was sidelined for more than seven months after undergoing left knee surgery on April 3rd, took the court with just a 5-6 record on the season.
The seventh-ranked Cilic gave him no time to shake the rust.
Clocking a crosscourt forehand, Cilic charged through 12 consecutive service points rolling through three love holds.
Running around his backhand to crank forehands with fierce intent, Cilic drilled a diagonal forehand drawing a mis-hit backhand reply earning the first break for 4-2.
The bearded Croatian's inside-out forehand was a damaging weapon in the opening set.
Cilic streaked through 15 straight serve points on serve before a failed serve-and-volley bid expired in net. Still, Cilic answered with a wicked wide serve backing up the break in the seventh game.
The Queen's Club champion threw down a near shutout on serve winning 20 of 21 serve points in a commanding opening set.
This is how dominant Cilic's serving was: when Tsonga won his second return point in the fourth game of the second set, French fans erupted in a near frenzy.
Cilic quickly pressed the mute button banging a swinging backhand volley holding at 15 for 2-all.
Lifting his level, Tsonga pressured in the eighth game.
The man in the checkerboard shirt tightened up slapping a forehand into net and spraying a double fault to face double break point.
Answering the call with the assertiveness he showed all match, Cilic fired four straight menacing serves overwhelming the uprising for 4-all.
Empowered, Cilic ran around his backhand and blasted a diagonal forehand drive return breaking for 6-5 with a clenched fist toward captain Zeljko Krajan.
Annoyed by Cilic's excessive pre-serve ball bouncing, which grew to young Djokovic proportions in the second set, Tsonga turned his back to the Croatian as Cilic served for the second set.
Unfazed by the move or jeers from French fans, Cilic flashed a dagger of a backhand down the line for 30-0 then clubbed a smash bouncing to a two-set lead after 90 minutes.
The Croatian No. 1 was nearly untouchable on serve, winning 28 of 29 first-serve points building a two-set lead.
A superb side-spinning volley he carved out off his hip helped Tsonga withstand a trying game to start the third set. Sprinting to his court-side seat, Tsonga tried to manufacture the energy necessary to spark a comeback.
Tsonga swept a forehand down the line gaining double break point in the fourth game. Cilic erased the first with a bounce smash and fired another big first serve to eliminate the second riding the storm out for 2-all.
On this day, Cilic had all the answers.
A skittish Tsonga sailed a backhand then dumped a double fault gifting the break and a 3-2 lead to the Australian Open runner-up.
The 33-year-old Frenchman left the court for treatment of an apparent groin or back strain.
During Tsonga's nine-minute absence, Cilic stayed loose hitting serves and gazing around at the packed crowd of more than 19,400 fans.
When play resumed, Tsonga attacked net drawing an errant pass for break point.
Pumping a scalding 135 ace down the T, Cilic denied the fifth break point he faced. The big man got low steering a backhand down the line to consolidate.
Serving to put his nation one victory away from the Davis Cup, Cilic saw Tsonga bunt a backhand drop shot return winner to fall behind love-30.
Staring down the stress, Cilic slashed his 11th and 12th aces in succession for match point after two hours, 22 minutes.
Cilic threw down a smash to close a declarative performance with an exclamation point.