Marin Cilic overcame Alex De Minaur 6-1 5-7 6-4 to give Croatia a 2-0 lead against Australia in Group D of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.
Cilic rallied from one break down in the third set to seal the win the win after 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Cilic reeled off seven consecutive games from 1-1 to to lead by a set and a break. De Minaur broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. De Minaur earned his second break in the 12th game to win the second set 7-5 forcing the match to the decider.
De Minaur produced the shot of the match in the second game of the third set to take a 2-0 lead. Cilic broke straight back in the next game to get back on serve. Cilic converted his second break point at deuce in the fifth game and held his next three service games to seal the third set.
“It’s a great pleasure to be back on the court to play for our nation. Australia have such a great spirit on the court, always fighting on the court. You can see today from Alex. From that second set, I was on a roll, 6-3 3-1, but it seemed really close. He is such a great fighter, and it’s not the first time that he comes back in a match with this score”, said Cilic.
Earlier today Borna Gojo scored just his second top 100 win when he beat Alexey Popyrin 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in a hard-fought opening singles match.
Popyrin earned five break points in Gojo’s first three service games, but he failed to convert them. Gojo won the tie-break 7-5 after Popyrin made five unforced errors. Gojo converted his only break point in the 11th game to win the second set 7-5.
“It feels amazing. We have unbelievable support here. I want to thank eveyone who came here from Croatia. He was probably a better player in the first set, but I knew if I could stay close I would have a chance eventually, and today it went my way”, said Gojo.
World number 1 team formed by Makte Pavic and Nikola Mektic beat De Minaur and John Peers 6-3 6-1 in the doubles match.
