Marin Cilić

[Damian]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR17k6W ... A&index=27[/youtube]

[Damian]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHwLg5N ... A&index=35[/youtube]

[Damian]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTpvcDd ... A&index=13[/youtube]

[Damian]

Djokovic Sets New Personal Record, Books Cilic Clash In Paris

Spoiler:

Djokovic leads Cilic 15-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series
Novak Djokovic set a new personal record after advancing to Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals on Thursday. The second seed, who led Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 2-1 when the Antalya champion was forced to retire, extends his streak to 30 consecutive sets won, passing his previous best mark of 29 achieved between the US Open final and Paris semi-finals in 2015.

Djokovic, who will return to World No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on 5 November, has now also won 20 consecutive tour-level matches for the sixth time, and 29 of his past 30 encounters since arriving at Wimbledon in July. The four-time champion will next face Marin Cilic in a repeat of this year's Fever Tree Championships final.

"Reflecting on what I've been through in the past year, it's quite a phenomenal achievement [to return to No. 1]," said Djokovic. "Of course, I'm very, very happy and proud about it.

"I always believe in myself, but it was highly improbable [five months ago], considering my ranking and the way I played and felt on the court. I'll probably be able to speak more profoundly about it when the season is done and hopefully if I get to finish [the season] as No. 1."


Watch Live

Djokovic owns a 15-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the 6'6" right-hander, who will guarantee his place at the Nitto ATP Finals in London if he can secure his third victory against the Career Golden Masters winner.

Cilic has defeated Djokovic in two of their past three meetings, including a straight-sets win at the same stage in Paris two years ago. Cilic overcame Djokovic for the first time to reach the 2016 semi-finals; a match which proved to be Djokovic's last encounter as World No. 1.

"I had a very good head-to-head record [against Marin] until that match a few years ago here," said Djokovic. "He likes playing indoors. Obviously he has a big serve and a big game from back of the court. It's just a very powerful style of tennis.

"It's going to be a tough one. [It is] tough to receive his missiles. His first serves are really, really fast, and he uses a lot of rotation and variation with his serve. If he has a high first serve percentage, then it's obviously a big challenge to play him because he's got a really big game from back of the court... I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a great match."

Cilic

Cilic improved his chances of qualifying for the elite eight-man event after one hour and 49 minutes, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5), 6-4. The 18-time tour-level titlist fired 29 winners to advance to the quarter-finals in Paris for the third straight year and fourth overall. Cilic reached the semi-finals in 2016, falling to John Isner in straight sets.

"I am very close to London, to securing my spot mathematically," said Cilic. "In the next match against Novak it will be another big challenge. [It will be] great to play him again."

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Dimitrov ends his 2018 campaign with a 24-19 tour-level record. The 27-year-old Bulgarian, who reached his 15th tour-level final at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in February (l. to Federer), was aiming to reach the quarter-finals in Paris for the first time.


Did You Know?
With victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday, Marin Cilic recorded his 40th tour-level victory of the season. The World No. 7 has notched 40 or more tour-level wins in seven of the past 10 years.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/dj ... 8-thursday

[Damian]

Cilic, Thiem Qualify To Complete Singles Field For 2018 Nitto ATP Finals

Spoiler:

Draw to be made on Monday, 5 November
Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Austria’s Dominic Thiem have clinched the two final spots at the prestigious season-ending tournament, to be held from 11-18 November at The O2 in London, as a result of Friday's play at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Cilic has secured his place at the season finale for the fourth time (also 2014, 2016-17), while Thiem will compete for the third consecutive year. They will join World No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain, Serbia’s five-time former champion Novak Djokovic, Swiss six-time former titlist Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and first-time participant Kevin Anderson of South African at the elite event.
Buy Your Tickets
This season, the 30-year-old Cilic claimed his second Fever-Tree Championships crown at The Queen’s Club in June (d. Djokovic), and reached his third Grand Slam championship final (also 2014 US Open and 2017 Wimbledon) at the Australian Open in January (l. to Federer). He also advanced to semi-finals at two Masters 1000 tournaments — the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (l. to A. Zverev) and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (l. to Djokovic) — plus the last four at the Tata Open Maharashtra (l. to Simon), an ATP World Tour 250-level event in Pune. World No. 7 Cilic, who rose to a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings on 29 January 2018, has won at least one ATP World Tour title for 11 consecutive years (2008-2018). His 18 career titles are the second-most for a Croatian behind Goran Ivanisevic with 22 crowns.
Thiem, 25, has recorded 50+ match wins for the second time in his career — compiling a 53-17 match record with three titles, bettered only by his 2016 season when he posted a 58-24 mark with four titles. The World No. 8 has lifted trophies in 2018 at three ATP World Tour 250-level tournaments — the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires (d. Bedene), the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon (d. Simon) and the St. Petersburg Open (d. Klizan). He also finished as runner-up at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal), his first Grand Slam championship final, and for the second successive year at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Zverev), a Masters 1000 event.
In the doubles field, Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic, Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah, Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo, Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares, Mike Bryan/Jack Sock, Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus, Nikola Mektic/Alexander Peya and Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut have secured their places.
Per ATP rules, the doubles field will be determined on 5 November following the conclusion of the Rolex Paris Masters, the final tournament of the regular ATP World Tour season. On that date, it will be determined what the eight teams will be as both Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan and also Mike Bryan and Jack Sock currently have sufficient points in the ATP Doubles Race To London to secure a place at the season finale. Bob Bryan has been sidelined due to a hip injury since May, but he may be fit enough to return with his twin brother to the prestigious event.
2018 DRAW CEREMONY:
The draw for the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals will be conducted live on The One Show (from 7-7:30pm GMT) on BBC One television on Monday, 5 November.
2018 GROUP NAMES:
The Finals Club, an initiative launched by the ATP in 2015 as a way of celebrating the past champions and heritage of the season-ending tournament since its inception in 1970, will this year honour players from the 2000s. As such, the group names for singles and doubles will honour players who enjoyed remarkable success at the season finale during that decade:
In singles:
- Group Guga Kuerten (containing the No. 1 seed) – 2000 champion
- Group Lleyton Hewitt (containing the No. 2 seed) – 2001 and 2002 champion
In doubles:
- Group Knowles/Nestor (containing the No. 1 seeds) – 2007 champions
- Group Llodra/Santoro (containing the No. 2 seeds) – 2005 champions
The Nitto ATP Finals welcomes more than 250,000 fans to The O2 arena annually, as well as generating global viewership figures reaching an average of 95 million viewers each year, as the ATP’s best eight singles players and doubles teams compete over eight days at the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... inals-2018

[arti]

[Lleyton]

Marin Cilic: A Home From Home

Spoiler:

Now a regular at the Nitto ATP Finals, Marin Cilic has qualified for the season finale for the fourth occasion. But the Croatian will be attempting to reach the knock-out stages for the very first time, as Paul Newman of The Independent writes

If logic determined the outcome of tennis matches, Marin Cilic would have an outstanding record at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Croatian loves playing in Britain, thrives on indoor hard courts and has a habit of winning titles in the latter stages of the season. In other words, the season finale should be right up Cilic’s street.

The glorious unpredictability of sport is underlined by Cilic’s surprisingly modest record here at The O2. In his three previous visits to the Greenwich Peninsula he had just one win to show from his nine matches. His lone victory, over Kei Nishikori two years ago, was in a concluding group match when he already knew he had no chance of qualifying for the semi‑finals.

But Cilic is too experienced a campaigner to allow a quirk of form like that to put him in a negative frame of mind. He has enjoyed an outstanding season on the ATP World Tour, finding the year-round consistency that has sometimes eluded him in the past. One of his season highlights was reaching the final of the Australian Open, while another was winning the Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club in London, extending to 11 his run of successive years in which he has landed at least one ATP World Tour title.

Buy Your London Tickets

Over the course of his career, London has been a particularly productive city for Cilic, who has reached the final at The Queen’s Club four times and won the title there twice, with his first victory in west London coming in 2012. Grass clearly suits his game, as he demonstrated in the summer of 2017 by reaching the Wimbledon final, only to suffer a painful foot blister that contributed significantly to his straight-sets defeat to Roger Federer.

Capable of adapting his game to any surface, Cilic is among an elite group of players who have gathered titles on grass, hard and clay courts. But it is on indoor hard courts that he has prospered; eight of his 18 career titles have come on that surface. He is a four-time champion in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and has also won in Moscow twice, as well as once each in St. Petersburg and Basel. The latter four tournaments were all won in the period between the US Open and the end of the season, making his lack of success here all the more puzzling.

Although all three of his defeats at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals were close – he won a set against Alexander Zverev, Jack Sock and Federer – Cilic thinks he may have paid the price for a heavy workload in the closing weeks of the season. He arrived in London having made the semi-finals in Tokyo, Shanghai and Basel and the quarter-finals in Paris. “Last year when I came to London, I felt just a little bit drained,” Cilic has said. “Even though I played well at the end of the year, I had a lot of matches and it just took a little bit of extra energy out of me. Mentally, as well, it was difficult to sustain that over and over again.”

Cilic hopes to have learned from last year and went into the closing weeks of this season with plans to reduce the length of his practice sessions, the idea being they are shorter but more intensive. “I think you just have to focus day by day, obviously listen to your body as much as you can with your team to work and to balance the training,” said Cilic, who will lead Croatia in next week’s Davis Cup final against France in Lille.

Cilic came flying out of the blocks this year, reaching his third Grand Slam final at January’s Australian Open, only to lose to Federer once more after five hard-fought sets. After a quiet period his results again picked up on clay with runs to the quarter-finals of his home ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo, the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 in Rome and the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

That form continued at The Queen’s Club, where he defeated Djokovic in the final, but he then suffered his earliest Wimbledon defeat for seven years when he was beaten by Argentina’s Guido Pella in the second round. It was the first time since 2011 that he had lost to someone other than Federer, Djokovic or Andy Murray at the All England Club. After Wimbledon, Cilic went out to Rafael Nadal in the Toronto quarter-finals and to Djokovic in the Cincinnati semi-finals before losing a four-hour marathon against Nishikori in the last eight at the US Open.

While Cilic turned 30 in September, he is the youngest active man to have won a Grand Slam singles title, by virtue of his success at the 2014 US Open. Although he might have won many more majors and titles on the ATP World Tour had he been in a different era, Cilic believes competing against the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic has made him a better player. “I feel they are pushing me to be a little bit better, day after day, match after match,” he has said. “I think we are all trying our best, pushing ourselves. Even the top guys, Roger and Rafa, they are setting an example, as well as Novak, who has come back and is playing well. I think there is a big group of players now that are very eager to win, very motivated.”

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... gRkRtfJUkE

[DUN I LOVE]

Od początku 20-14 roku Marin wygrał 223 mecze i 4 razy w tym czasie kwalifikował się do Finałów ATP. Niestety, jak do tej pory, Chorwat wygrał w tym turnieju zaledwie 1 spotkanie.

[Damian]

Cilic: 'Small Margins Are Going To Make The Difference'

Spoiler:

World No. 7 appearing at the season finale for the fourth time
Appearing at the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth time, Marin Cilic is well aware of the challenges ahead of him as he attempts to advance beyond round-robin play for the first time at the elite eight-man event.
The 30-year-old, who began his season by reaching his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open (l. to Federer), will begin his campaign against German Alexander Zverev on Monday afternoon, with a strong start crucial as he hopes to win his opening match at the tournament for the first time. Joined in Group Guga Kuerten by Novak Djokovic and John Isner, Cilic will be aiming to overcome the disappointment of three-set losses in each of his round-robin matches at The O2 last season.
"Small margins are going to make the difference," said Cilic. "Playing the top guys is always a big challenge and matches against them are always very close and very tight."
With a 1-8 record in his previous three appearances, Cilic will be eager to get off to a good start in a city where he has enjoyed success in recent years. Earlier this year, the 18-time tour-level titlist saved one championship point to overcome Novak Djokovic in the Fever-Tree Championships final. Cilic also reached the championship match at Wimbledon in 2017 (l. to Federer).
"This year I feel that I am prepared well and I am feeling good physically as well," said Cilic. "I feel, mentally, quite fresh and ready for the challenges. I feel these experiences, from previous [appearances], will help me prepare better."
After early losses in Tokyo, Shanghai and Basel, Cilic rediscovered his best form at the Rolex Paris Masters last week. The 6'6" right-hander defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber and reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov, before ending Novak Djokovic's 30-set winning streak in a three-set loss to the eventual runner-up.
"In Paris, last week, I played great tennis," said Cilic. "I am feeling good at the moment and very excited."
With experience and form, Cilic could finally be set to show his best level at the season finale. But he, as well as the rest of the field, knows it will likely come down to the smallest of margins.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... 18-preview

[Żilu]

[arti]

Cilic Claws Past Isner To Earns 1st Win Of The Week

Spoiler:

With Cilic dropping a set, Djokovic qualifies for semis at The O2

It’s no secret that one of the toughest tasks in all of tennis is breaking John Isner’s serve. But Marin Cilic broke the American three times in a row at the end of the second set and the beginning of the decider on Wednesday to earn his first victory of the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4.

"I had to just stay patient, just stay focused and I felt that I played really great tennis from the second set and the third set as well," Cilic said. "I'm really pleased with the win."

Cilic puts an end to a four-match losing streak at the season finale, capturing the second victory of his career at The O2 (2-9). And since Cilic lost a set, Group Guga Kuerten leader Novak Djokovic (2-0) is through to the semi-finals at the event for the eighth time.

Thirty-year-old Cilic got some help from the big-serving Isner, who double-faulted two breaks to the fifth seed. It was a surprising sight, as Isner entered the tournament second in ATP World Tour history in break points saved according to Infosys ATP Scores & Stats, staving off 70.5 per cent of them in his career. The oldest first-time qualifier at the Nitto ATP Finals since 35-year-old Andres Gimeno in 1972 saved his first five break points of the match.

But Cilic increasingly put returns in play, doing well to recover close to neutral by placing those returns deep in the court. And perhaps it was that pressure that forced Isner to go for more, getting broken via a double fault at 3-4 in the second set and to begin the third set.

"I think he just started seeing the ball better," Isner said. "Maybe I tipped some of my pitches. But he started getting on me a lot there."

But even still, Isner was not out of the match just yet, as a sloppy service game from Cilic, which included a double fault, evened the third set. The Croat broke for the third time in a row though, managing to throw Isner’s footwork off with another deep return near the baseline before scrambling forward and carving a perfect backhand drop volley.

"I just felt that I got that momentum towards the end of the second set and just started to feel the ball really well. Just on a few occasions, I guessed right," Cilic said. "On critical points on John's serve, he made a couple double faults as well, which helped on the break points. I just had to stay patient, stay always looking for those chances and be ready for them. I lost my serve at the beginning of the third set, but managed to break back. I definitely played great tennis towards the end."

It’s easy to forget that Isner began his 2018 ATP World Tour season 2-6 at tour-level. But perhaps the turning point of his season came at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where the American upset then-World No. 3 Cilic in the Round of 16 en route to becoming the oldest first-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titlist.

Cilic exacted his revenge in London in two hours and 14 minutes, extending his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Isner to 8-3. The Croat had lost his only previous match on an indoor hard court against the Nitto ATP Finals debutant two years ago at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The 18-time tour-level champion will next face Novak Djokovic in the final match of round-robin play. Cilic has won just two of 18 FedEx ATP Head2Head matches against the World No. 1, but he saved championship point against the Serbian earlier this season before triumphing at the Fever-Tree Championships.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... nesday-atp

[arti]

[arti]

[DUN I LOVE]

Dopiero drugi wygrany mecz Marina w historii jego startów w tym turnieju.

[Żilu]

[arti]

[Barty]

The Story Of Marin's Season...

Spoiler:

Preparing For 2018
During the off-season, Cilic meets up with Federer while vacationing in the Maldives. They have a couple hits (and drinks) together. The pair will meet again in a big final just a couple months later...
Career High
Cilic and Federer face off for the Australian Open title, a match the Swiss wins 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. The Croatian still climbs to a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 3 and sets his sights even higher. "My ultimate goal is to reach No. 1. That's what I'm working for." More...
A Long Time Coming
"I was waiting many years for it to happen, so it’s definitely a happy moment," says Cilic in Rome after reaching his first Masters 1000 semi-final. He follows with a quarter-final run at Roland Garros.
King Of Queen's
Cilic saves a championship point in the Queen's Club final against Djokovic, triumphing 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 after two hours and 57 minutes. He extends his streak of titles won to an 11th straight season. More...
Turning The Page
Marin turns the page on his second-round Wimbledon exit – what he calls his "worst performance" in two years – with success at a pair of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. He reaches the quarter-finals in Toronto and the semi-finals in Cincinnati, both times falling to the eventual champions.
An Epic Comeback
Cilic claws back from two sets down to defeat #NextGenATP Australian Alex de Minaur in the US Open third round, completing his victory at 2:22am after converting his eighth match point. He reaches the quarter-finals before running out of steam against Nishikori. More..
Looking For Wins
Cilic struggles in Asia with a pair of opening losses, despite serving for the match in Tokyo and holding match points in Shanghai. Back in Europe, he finds his winning stride as he routs #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov in the Basel first round.
London Calling
Cilic finishes the regular season with a quarter-final run at the Rolex Paris Masters, and qualifies for the Nitto ATP Finals for a fourth time.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cilic-season

[arti]

- Francja ma bardzo silny zespół, ale my w tym roku także graliśmy bardzo dobrze. Kwestia faworyta jest otwarta - powiedział Marin Cilić, lider reprezentacji Chorwacji, która w najbliższy weekend zmierzy się z Francją w finale Pucharu Davisa.

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/78995 ... st-otwarta

[Damian]

Puchar Davisa: Marin Cilić pokonał Jo-Wilfrieda Tsongę. Chorwacja o punkt od trofeum

Spoiler:

Chorwacja prowadzi 2-0 z Francją po pierwszym dniu rozgrywanego na korcie ziemnym w hali w Lille finału Pucharu Davisa 2018. W drugiej piątkowej grze Marin Cilić w trzech setach pokonał Jo-Wilfrieda Tsongę.

Choć Jo-Wilfried Tsonga w połowie września wrócił do rozgrywek po półrocznej absencji spowodowanej kontuzją oraz operacją kolana i od tego czasu rozegrał ledwie pięć meczów, wygrywając tylko jeden, został powołany do reprezentacji Francji na finał Pucharu Davisa przeciw Chorwacji. Co więcej, kapitan Trójkolorowych, Yannick Noah, posłał go w bój jako jedną z dwóch rakiet singlowych i tenisista z Le Mans w piątek zmierzył się z liderem ekipy gości, Marinem Ciliciem.
Tsonga i Cilić wyszli na kort przy stanie 1-0 dla Chorwacji, po tym, jak w pierwszej grze Borna Corić w trzech partiach uporał się z Jeremym Chardym. I ten pojedynek także zakończył się trzysetową wygraną reprezentanta drużyny przyjezdnych.

REKLAMA

Spotkanie od początku do końca toczyło się pod dyktando Cilicia. Chorwat był agresywniejszy, popełniał mniej błędów, lepiej serwował oraz narzucał własne warunki gry w wymianach. Tsondze nie pomógł ani gorący doping miejscowej publiczności, która szczelnie wypełniła trybuny Stade Pierre-Mauroy, ani ceglana mączka, a więc teoretycznie nawierzchnia najmniej odpowiadająca jego przeciwnikowi.

Mecz zakończył się wynikiem 6:3, 7:5, 6:4 dla Cilicia. O losach każdego z setów decydowało jedno przełamanie. Tsonga próbował wielu rozwiązań, ale żadne nie dawało mu efektu. Tego dnia był co najmniej o klasę słabszy od Chorwata i po ostatniej piłce spotkania ze spuszczoną głową oraz z markotną miną przeżywał porażkę.

W ciągu dwóch godzin i 22 minut walki Cilić zaserwował 12 asów, ani razu nie został przełamany, wykorzystał cztery z pięciu break pointów, posłał 34 zagrania kończące, popełnił 27 niewymuszonych błędów oraz łącznie zdobył 102 punkty, o 27 więcej od rywala. Tsondze natomiast zapisano osiem asów, 25 uderzeń wygrywających i 34 pomyłki własne.

Dzięki zwycięstwu Cilicia oraz wcześniejszej wygranej Coricia Chorwacja po pierwszym dniu finału Pucharu Davisa prowadzi 2-0 i, by zdobyć trofeum, potrzebuje już tylko jednego punktu. Kropkę nad "i" tenisiści z Bałkanów będą mogli postawić w sobotę, w meczu deblowym.


REKLAMA
Francja - Chorwacja 0:2, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille (Francja)
finał Grupy Światowej, kort ziemny w hali
piątek-niedziela, 23-25 listopada
Gra 1.: Jeremy Chardy - Borna Corić 2:6, 5:7, 4:6
Gra 2.: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Marin Cilić 3:6, 5:7, 4:6
Gra 3.: Pierre-Hugues Herbert / Nicolas Mahut - Ivan Dodig / Mate Pavić *sobota godz. 14:00
Gra 4.: Jeremy Chardy - Marin Cilić *niedziela godz. 13:00
Gra 5.: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Borna Corić *niedziela

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/79025 ... t-od-trofe

[Barty]

Cilic Clinches Second Davis Cup Crown For Croatia

Spoiler:

Visiting nation notched three straight-sets singles wins

FRANCE 1, CROATIA 3
Lille, France (Indoor Clay)

Marin Cilic ended Croatia's 13-year wait for a second Davis Cup title on Sunday, beating Lucas Pouille 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.

The World No. 7 needed two hours and 19 minutes to secure victory for the visiting nation, winning 89 per cent of first-serve points and landing 16 forehand winners. Cilic has now won a record 39 Davis Cup rubbers for Croatia (39-17), which includes 29 wins from 40 singles encounters.

“It’s not every day that you become a world champion,” said Cilic. “For us it’s a dream come true, for this nation, we are so passionate, you can see the fans are enjoying themselves. I feel that in Croatia it’s going to be incredible too.”

Cilic ends his season with 44 tour-level wins for the second straight year. The World No. 7 lifted his 18th tour-level title at the Fever-Tree Championships in June, saving one championship point to overcome Novak Djokovic. Cilic has claimed at least one tour-level title in each of the past 11 ATP World Tour seasons.

After falling to a 3-2 loss against Argentina in the 2016 final, Croatia was appearing in its third Davis Cup final. In 2005, Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic led Croatia to its maiden title in the team competition against Slovakia in Bratislava.

France was aiming to become only the second team ever to recover from a 2-0 deficit in a Davis Cup final. Captain Yannick Noah's decision to replace Jeremy Chardy with Lucas Pouille proved to be unsuccessful, with Pouille falling short in his attempt to recreate his 2017 final heroics. Last year, the 24-year-old defeated Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 in his first live fifth rubber to earn France its 10th Davis Cup title.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/fr ... nal-sunday