Australia now know their Davis Cup semi-final rivals, after two-times champions Croatia reached the match’s final 4 for the sixth time with a 2-0 win over hosts Spain.
Marin Cilic rallied to clinch the profitable level for Croatia with a 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
Borna Coric had earlier given his facet the lead with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
With Carreno Busta up 5-4 within the third set tiebreaker and two factors away from forcing a deciding doubles rubber, Cilic fired down an ace to attract degree after which coolly went on to seal the win in three hours and 13 minutes.
Croatia, who completed runner-up to Russia in final 12 months’s Davis Cup last, will play Australia in semi-final motion on Friday in Malaga (2am Saturday AEDT).
Battling shows from Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur had on Tuesday earned Australia a 2-0 win over the Netherlands to safe their spot within the final 4.
A misfiring Cilic managed to carry serve within the opening sport of the match regardless of 4 double faults and that inaccuracy on the service line was an indication of issues to return for the Croatian, who blended 20 aces with 15 double faults.
Cilic began to seek out his groove within the second set the place he managed to consolidate a break for a 5-2 lead after which went on to drive a decider.
After the 2 gamers mixed for 4 service breaks throughout a six-game span of the third set, Carreno Busta held for a 5-4 lead however Cilic additionally steadied the ship and managed to push it to a tiebreaker the place he rapidly fell behind 4-1.
In the day’s first match, Coric was stable from the service line as he fired down 12 aces and turned apart the one break level he confronted en path to securing victory in slightly below two hours.
