Chair umpire Ramos hands Cilic warning for slamming racket

ZADAR, Croatia (AP) - Chair umpire Carlos Ramos issued a code violation to Croatia after Marin Cilic slammed his racket to the clay and mangled the frame during a Davis Cup loss to Sam Querrey of the United States.

Since it was the first violation of the match, it was only a warning. No points were deducted and Cilic did not exchange any words with Ramos.

"Usually when you break a racket you get a code violation," Cilic said.

Ramos was also the umpire who gave Serena Williams three code violations in her straight-set loss to Naomi Osaka during last weekend's U.S. Open final. The American great argued she wasn't being treated the same as some male players.

The normally collected Cilic lost his cool after committing a series of uncharacteristic errors late in the third set.

After winning the opening set, Cilic wasted a 6-1 lead in the second-set tiebreak.

Cilic couldn't recall the last time he had smashed a racket.

"I don't know," he said, adding that "it's always a little bit more nervous" to play in the Davis Cup.

Querrey, who played in place of Steve Johnson, rallied to win 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 and even the best-of-five semifinal at 2-2

Croatia's Borna Coric was playing Frances Tiafoe in a decisive fifth rubber.

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