daviscup.com - Match Report

	Latest News
	Search Articles
	Twitter
	Newsletter
	Davis Cup Radio
	Davis Cup Video
	Audio Interviews
	Photo Galleries

News Feed ? |

Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 10 Jul 2009

Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 10 Jul 2009

Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 10 Jul 2009

James Blake with USA Captain Patrick McEnroe

Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 10 Jul 2009

Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 11 Jul 2009

10 Jul 2009 - Sportska Dvorana "Zatika", Porec - Chris Bowers - CRO v USA

Croatia continues US jinx on marathon day

More than eight hours of tennis ended in the small hours of Saturday morning with Croatia leading the USA 2-0 after two absorbing matches. And if Patrick McEnroe is hoping to end his bad run against Croatia which has seen the eastern European nation beat the Americans twice in the last seven seasons, his men will have to do it the hard way.

One of the longest days in Davis Cup history

Both opening day singles went to five sets, Ivo Karlovic beating James Blake 67(5) 46 63 76(3) 75 in three hours 38 minutes, and Marin Cilic then defeating Mardy Fish 46 63 67(3) 61 86 in four hours 23 minutes. That made the aggregate playing time for the day eight hours and one minute, making it one of the longest days in Davis Cup by BNP Paribas history.

Yet the two matches were very contrasting. Karlovic had never won a five-set match, and when Blake rode his luck to win the first set tiebreak and then broke early in the second, it didn’t look like the big-serving Croat was going to end his drought. But early in the third set he began getting to the net earlier, his volleys improved, he cut out the baseline errors that had helped Blake to his two-sets lead, and suddenly the match was a contest.

Blake might still have won in four sets, after Karlovic double-faulted to give the American a 2-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Karlovic then played six bold points to turn the tiebreak around, and help take the match into a final set.

47 aces for Karlovic

With the Croat having been broken just once in the match, serving superbly – he was to post 47 aces, equalling Gustavo Kuerten’s Davis Cup record – and serving first, Blake always looked to have the tougher task in the decider. After serving successfully to stay in the match at 4-5, the American was broken to 30 at 5-6 as Karlovic took his first ever fivesetter at his 12th attempt.

US hopes of drawing level looked good when Fish took the first set, but it was very much a result of Cilic’s errors, and when the Croat No. 1 cut them out in the second set, he looked the dominant player.

When Fish needed treatment for a left-rib strain midway through the third set, Cilic looked to be cruising to victory, but Fish dug deep and profited from a stream of gifts from the Croat’s racket in the third set tiebreak. When Cilic soared through the fourth set, he looked stronger in the fifth, but his serve let him down, and only a run of bad returns from Fish saved Cilic from being punished.

Cilic served for the match at 5-3 in the fifth, but was broken, yet when Fish served at 6-7, he played a poor game, and Cilic wrapped up victory at just before one o’clock in the morning.

Home crowd played their part

Cilic said the crowd’s support was ‘crucial’ after the third set, and that the dwindling but vociferous home supporters helped him to establish the momentum that eventually swung the match his way.

At one stage in the day James Blake vented his frustration against the crowd, saying after his match that they were ‘disrespectful’ and ‘hostile’. But he found little support for that view, and while there were a few unsavoury shouts from the crowd and ill-timed applause, even his captain Patrick McEnroe said it was all part of the Davis Cup package.

The Americans are not out of this yet, and go into Saturday’s doubles as favourites. That status is likely to be enhanced if, as expected, Croatia’s captain Goran Prpic decides to rest Karlovic and put in Roko Karanusic. Prpic hinted that he would do this when he said his strategy was to win three singles, and that he would be reluctant to risk one of his singles players against a team as good as Bob and Mike Bryan.

Related Links on other websites
> Information from CTA
> Information from USTA

Related Links on Daviscup.com
> Tie Information
> Scorecards and Stats from this tie
> Audio interviews from the tie
> Absent friends may not be missed

Related Audio

Interview with Ivo Karlovic (CRO) - day 1

Interview with James Blake (USA) - day 1

If you cannot hear the audio, then please update your media player by following one of the links above.

^ Back to top