Cilic leads Croatia to Davis Cup glory

Day Three of the Davis Cup Final in Lille, France

France (1) v Croatia (4)

Rubber Four

Lucas Pouille (France) v Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Jérémy Chardy was replaced by the higher ranked Lucas Pouille for France in what could be the Cup winning match, should Cilic prevail.

Set one was a servers delight, Cilic facing no break points, and Pouille saving two, the first in the third game, and the second critically at 4-4, with a drop shot - dangerous option but well executed.

A tie break was appropriate considering how close the set was contested, and after each player had won a point against serve the score was 3-3.  

Cilic then took control.  After the Croatian won a point on serve to lead 4-3, Pouille hit a backhand long, and Cilic produced a clean winner.  On the first of three set points, a backhand did the trick and Croatia was one set closer to claiming the Cup.

The second set again was frustrating for Pouille who couldn’t find a way through the Cilic serve.  A touch of bad luck with the bounce contributed to a French error and a break point in the fifth game, and another mistake presented Cilic with the decisive edge.

Pouille was down 2-5 and 0-40, but saved four set points to remain alive.  Only for a moment though, as Cilic clinically served out for a two set advantage.

As in set two, Cilic chose the fifth game in set three to break the Pouille serve, and at 3-5 the Frenchman fell victim to a perfect Croatian lob on the third Cilic match point.

The match was over 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3, and Croatia won the 2018 Davis Cup, its second ever victory.

In the final set, Cilic won 16 of 18 points on his serve.

Marin Cilic won both his matches in the final in straight sets, and his serve remained unbroken throughout each contest.

The fifth rubber wasn’t played.