Davis Cup: Croatia in semifinals after beating Kazakhstan

Posted April 08, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

VARAZDIN, Croatia (AP) - Marin Cilic put away Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 to send Croatia into the Davis Cup semifinals on Sunday.

Cilic clinched the quarterfinal against Kazakhstan 3-1 on indoor clay after the two-hour match, the easiest of his three straight wins over Kukushkin.

Cilic didn't serve to his usual standard but saved all four break points against him, broke Kukushkin seven times, and hit twice as many winners.

Craotia, which has staged both of its ties this year, will also host the United States on Sept. 14-16, likely on clay. Croatia hasn't lost a tie on clay in five years.

The Croatians have a 4-0 win-loss record against the Americans. They last met in the 2016 quarterfinals, en route to Croatia's second final appearance.

The national-record 36 Davis Cup match wins by Ivan Ljubicic, leader of the 2005 team which won Croatia's only Davis Cup title, was equaled by Cilic.

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