Davis Cup: Croatia wins doubles, leads Kazakhs 2-1 in QF

Posted April 07, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

VARAZDIN, Croatia (AP) - Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic won their second Davis Cup doubles together from an early setback to put Croatia ahead of Kazakhstan 2-1 in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Dodig and Mektic beat Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in three hours on indoor clay.

The tie could be decided in the first reverse singles on Sunday, when former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic plays Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. They won their singles on Friday. Cilic leads their matchups 2-1.

Dodig and Mektic fought back from a break down twice in the first set, but Khabibulin and Nedovyesov cruised through the tiebreaker.

Consecutive double faults by Khabibulin gave the Croatians the decisive break in the third game in the second. He lost serve again in the third game in the third. The Croats won five straight games in the fourth for 5-1 and sealed the win on their second match point.

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