Davis Cup Final 2016: Argentina vs. Croatia Winner and Reaction

Argentina came from behind to beat Croatia 3-2 in a thrilling Davis Cup final on Sunday, with Federico Delbonis beating Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the deciding rubber. Juan Martin del Potro had beaten Marin Cilic 6-7 (4), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in a five-hour epic earlier in the day.

Both sets of fans held terrific voice at Arena Zagreb, where one would have hardly guessed Cilic was the home favourite in a balanced venue. But it was Del Potro who pulled clear at the end of a tremendously fierce battle.

The result meant the Davis Cup final went to a decider, where veteran Karlovic had no answers for Delbonis. The title is Argentina's first in five trips to the final.

Per Live Tennis, team captain Daniel Orsanic was in awe of his two stars:

"

'We did what we had to do. We could have lost & the guys were amazing today ... Fede played the best match of his life at the right moment.' pic.twitter.com/ZKHJ4aM4ba

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) November 27, 2016"

Here's a look at the full results for the 2016 Davis Cup final:

Date	Croatia (2)	Argentina (3)	Result
Friday, November 25	Marin Cilic	Federico Delbonis	6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 6-2
Friday, November 25	Ivo Karlovic	Juan Martin del Potro	4-6, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 5-7
Saturday, November 26	Ivan Dodig & Marin Cilic	Leonardo Mayer & Juan Martin del Potro	7-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Sunday, November 27	Marin Cilic	Juan Martin del Potro	7-6 (4), 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 3-6
Sunday, November 27	Ivo Karlovic	Federico Delbonis	4-6, 3-6, 2-6

Recap

As far as finals go, Cilic could hardly have dreamed of a better start at Arena Zagreb on Sunday, breaking his opponent at the first request before rampaging into a 4-1 lead that appeared to leave Del Potro stunned.

The fifth of those games was where the Argentinian started to show some fight. It was to no avail, though, as Cilic battled through an onslaught of near-break points, per the official Davis Cup Twitter account:

Del Potro salvaged that break with his next bite at the cherry, however, replicating the three-game win streak his foe put together at the beginning of the match to draw level at four games apiece.

The serving sets were far more decisive for the remainder of the opening set as the scoreline trickled to 6-6, where it was a tremendous Cilic backhand that bested his South American foe to take a crucial 1-0 lead:

The second set proved to be far more incisive from Cilic, however. It was again the Croat who broke first, as tennis writer Chris Goldsmith noted, in what proved to be a turning point of the fixture:

Del Potro's final hopes were dealt another gruesome blow when his opponent sealed back-to-back breaks to go 5-2 ahead, with Argentina's premier representative failing to score even a single point on his own serve this time.

One set from sealing a historic win, Cilic held his own in the third set. The world No. 6 was on the brink of conceding his second serve at 1-0 down but saved two break points to pull level at one game each, and the statistics showed it was him dealing better with his back against the wall:

That was despite Del Potro's attempt to break out the flair and confuse his opponent, via Eurosport UK:

Del Potro's comeback got a tremendous boost when he sailed into a 0-40 lead at 6-5 up. Although Cilic made a desperate dash to tie once more, the South American finally got on the board with a fabulous net forehand:

The match ticked into its fourth hour as both players held their serve to 4-4, although Del Potro was far less decisive on his serve. But the 28-year-old nevertheless stole a tide-turning break in the ninth game before drawing at 2-2 against all the odds.

Cilic's capitulation finally came to a halt in the first game of the decider, as he broke Del Potro's serve to grab the advantage.

Live Tennis wondered whether the break would prove decisive:

"

#CRO breaks! Just like Delbo, Delpo wavers at the beginning of the first set & #Cilic pounces with some smart play. Decisive?

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) November 27, 2016"

Del Potro's answer was swift, as the Argentinian broke right back to tie things up. The two went blow for blow until the eighth game, when the visitor found another breakthrough, and he followed it up by serving out the match.

As shared by Ed McGrogan of Tennis.com, Del Potro was very emotional after his win:

Tennis star Colin Fleming loved the action:

It was up to Delbonis and Karlovic to decide the 2016 Davis Cup winner. The visitor took the best start, needing just a single break in the opening set to take the advantage over the veteran.

Karlovic looked sloppy out of the starting blocks, and he paid for it in the fifth game. The local favourite seemed to improve as the set wore on, however, and recovered last Friday to turn on the heat in the second part of his match.

STRINGER/Getty Images

Delbonis came under huge pressure in the sixth game of the second set, only just avoiding a break, but he powered through and found a break of his own. In an almost exact copy of the first set, the one breakthrough would prove sufficient, moving Argentina within a set of the Davis Cup title.

The tournament's official Twitter account reminded fans Croatia were in the exact same position earlier in the day:

Karlovic isn't Del Potro, though, and an early break for Delbonis in the third seemed to signal the beginning of the end. The Argentinian cruised on his own serve and even grabbed a second break, sending the South American fans into a delirium. After a long, hard day, Delbonis finished the job for the visitors, winning the team its first title.