PA Sport

Marin Cilic leads Croatia to Davis Cup title

Marin Cilic leads Croatia to Davis Cup title
By PA Sport

25/11/2018 at 16:59Updated 25/11/2018 at 18:05

France’s Lucas Pouille was beaten in the crucial match.

World number seven Marin Cilic secured Croatia’s second Davis Cup title with a comprehensive victory over France’s Lucas Pouille in front of a partisan Lille crowd.

The hosts entered Sunday looking to become the first country since 1939 to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the final, having lost both matches on the opening day, but Cilic gave them no chance.

France had given themselves a lifeline at 2-1 after Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert’s victory in Saturday’s doubles but Cilic snuffed out any hopes of a comeback with a 7-6 6-3 6-3 win to give his side an unassailable 3-1 lead.

“It’s not every day that you become a world champion,” said the 30-year-old in his post-match interview after guiding his country to their first Davis Cup triumph since 2005.


Cilic’s win meant the scheduled fifth match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Borna Coric was a dead rubber and therefore not played.

This was the final staging of the team competition in its current format before it changes next year.