 Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 12 Jul 2009 |
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| 12 Jul 2009 - Sportska Dvorana "Zatika", Porec - Chris Bowers - CRO v USA | |
| Cilic leads new Croatian generation |
The second golden year for Croatian tennis is upon us! After the nation that has only existed since 1991 won the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in 2005, a new generation has taken the country into its second semifinal, thanks to a 3-1 win over the USA in Porec.
The winning shot was played by Marin Cilic, completing a 63 63 46 62 victory over James Blake to put the home side out of reach. It's the third time the two nations have played, and Croatia have won all three. This one guarantees a home semifinal in September against the Czech Republic, with every chance of a home final in early December, as Croatia would be at home to Spain.
Team leader Cilic
Cilic was still a junior when Ivan Ljubicic led Croatia to its first title in Bratislava four years ago. Earlier this year he showed signs of forming a good team with Mario Ancic, Croatia's other player from 2005. But with Ancic suffering another bout of mononucleosis and likely to be out for another few months, Cilic has become the team leader, backed up by Ivo Karlovic, whose five-set victory over James Blake on Friday was a crucial building block of this victory.
Playing in his patriotic red-and-white chequered Croatian shirt, Cilic survived an early scare, when Blake had him at 15-40 in the opening game, the American racing out of the blocks with visibly positive intent. But after those initial chances went begging, Cilic gradually grew into the match, and emerged from a period of three successive breaks with the chance to serve for the first set.
Blake was broken early in the second, and by the time Cilic took a two-sets lead, he was outclassing the American. When Cilic broke to lead 2-0 in the third, it was looking ominous for the Americans. But Blake broke back straight away, only to wobble again at 3-4. Five times Cilic had break point, five times Blake saved it, one of them with the luckiest of stone-dead netcords. Having missed his chance, Cilic was broken in the next game, and Blake served out the third set.
But any hope of a revival was crushed in the second game of the fourth set, when Cilic again made his groundstrokes tell. He broke Blake, and could have broken again as Blake's serve came under constant bombardment. And the bombardment finally told on the American, when he was broken in the eighth game, Cilic sealing victory with an in-to-out crosscourt forehand.
United States outplayed
"I think this was one of the best matches I've played," Cilic said. "I was a little tired from the five sets on Friday, and today I played a lot of it on adrenaline, the crowd was carrying me throughout the match. I really played well, I felt good on court, moved really well, and even though I lost the third set I felt I was playing good and my tactics were perfect, so I kept going and eventually broke him."
Blake was happy to recognise he had been beaten by the better player on the day. "Marin has played great this weekend. He took care of business against Mardy, and he played a very solid match today. I felt I gave him a few too many chances, I played a little too passive, didn't take as many risks as I normally do, and he took advantage of that. Any time I left the ball a little short or in his strike zone, he took care of it, and that's why he's as good as he right now."
Cilic will lead Croatia in September, buoyed by an exhilarating experience over the nine sets he played. "This was one of the greatest ties I've played so far," he said. "I think I've gained a lot of experience here, everyone supported me, and it really felt good to play at home. The Czechs are also a great team, but playing at home is a little bit of an advantage, so with our team we can go through to the final."
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
> USA dispatches sacrificial lambs
> Croatia continues US jinx on marathon day
> Absent friends may not be missed
Related Audio
 Interview with Marin Cilic (CRO) - day 3
Interview with James Blake (USA) - day 3
Interview with Patrick McEnroe (USA) - day 3
Interview with Goran Prpic (CRO) - day 3
 
If you cannot hear the audio, then please update your media player by following one of the links above.
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