Davis Cup Final 2016: Saturday Score and Reaction for Croatia vs. Argentina

Croatia will head into the last day of the 2016 Davis Cup final in the lead after an eventful doubles victory on Saturday put them 2-1 in front.

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro and Croatia’s Marin Cilic got the better of Ivo Karlovic and Federico Delbonis, respectively, on Day 1 to leave the scores at 1-1 after the opening day. But Cilic once again showed his class to edge his nation in front.

Alongside Ivan Dodig, the 2014 U.S. Open champion orchestrated a hugely entertaining 3-0 triumph over Del Potro and Leonardo Mayer, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.

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In front of a raucous home crowd, Croatia started the match by holding on to a comfortable service game, and that set the tone for the first set.

Neither team gave an inch on serve—only one break point went up for grabs throughout the opener—forcing a tiebreak.

Two early breaks gave Croatia the perfect platform to win the first set, and they did by 7-2 in the tiebreak. A trademark big serve from Cilic drew the curtain on the set, via Davis Cup:

Inspired net play from Dodig in the second set brought about the first break of the match as Croatia surged into a 2-1 lead.

However, in the eighth, Argentina struck back, as the visitors converted their first break point of the match.

Del Potro and Cilic exchanged baseline blows before the latter sent the ball long and restored parity.

Four comfortable service games followed as we entered yet another tiebreak. The teams exchanged mini breaks in the decider to kick things off, but Croatia proved too strong and moved into a 4-2 lead at the change of ends.

Argentina tried to break down their opponents, but Croatia were just too strong. At set point, an accurate Dodig serve could only be returned straight down the neck of Cilic at the net, and he made no mistake to give the hosts a 2-0 lead, via Davis Cup:

Two tiebreak set losses are harsh at the best of times, but in a final it’s something else. Argentina heads visibly dropped in the third set.

They kept plugging away in the tight contest, but when Croatia broke in the sixth game to make it 4-2, Argentina’s race was ultimately run.

Croatia rounded off the match in style with a 6-3 set victory to put them within one of their first Davis Cup title since 2005:

Cilic and Del Potro will lock horns on Sunday, with the former knowing a victory will give his side Davis Cup glory. Should Argentina emerge victorious in the singles match, a fifth doubles rubber will take centre stage.

History is against the Argentinians, however. Davis Cup revealed that teams have come from 2-1 down to win the Davis Cup only twice in the last 35 years:

After the match, Dodig said he’s enjoying every second of his Davis Cup experience and hopes Cilic can put the result beyond doubt on Sunday, per ATP World Tour: “This is a once in a lifetime experience and I have to thank the fans for creating a fantastic atmosphere. We will be rooting for Marin to finish the job tomorrow.” 

Cilic looks in impressive form heading into Sunday’s crucial clash, and it would be far from a surprise to see him get the better of Del Potro.

Argentina will be hoping the 28-year-old can win the battle of the big servers, but it’ll be an uphill battle against such a partisan crowd.