Croatia became the latest side to reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup, taking care of the hosts Spain in Malaga to reach the next stage.
Borna Coric and Marin Cilic won their respective singles matches over Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta to seal their side’s passage.
Coric got his side going with a 6-4 7-6(4) win over Bautista Agut, using his serve to trouble the Spaniard throughout the match, firing 12 aces in the process.
The Croat got the game’s first break to lead 4-3 before having to stave off a breakpoint himself to take the lead. A more competitive second set followed with both players holding their serves until Coric raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak before securing the win on his 3rd matchpoint.
Buoyed by his teammate’s win, Cilic then closed out the tie with a 5-7 6-3 7-6(5) win over Carreno Busta that took three hours and 13 minutes.
The former US Open winner struggled in the opening set, committing several double faults in a sign of things to come to fall a set behind.
He found his groove in the second racing to a 5-2 lead before forcing a decider.
The third set went to a tiebreak with Carreno Busta up 5-4 and two points away from forcing a deciding doubles rubber, before Cilic fired down an ace to draw level and eventually win the match.
The win over Spain means Croatia reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup for the sixth time.
They will play Australia in the semi-final on Friday.
