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Veteran Marin Cilic came from behind to defeat Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in a three-hour match to send Croatia into the Davis Cup semifinals.
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Cilic came back after losing the first set in the second set but was trailing 1–4 at one point in the deciding set tiebreaker. It was here that Cilic put his experience to use, winning 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5) to give Croatia an unassailable 2-0 lead over Spain. The match lasted three hours and 13 minutes.
Earlier, Borna Coric had given Croatia the lead by upset Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 7-6(4) in the first singles match. This is Croatia's first win over Spain in Davis Cup. He will face Australia in the semi-finals.
Cilic, 34, who made his Davis Cup debut back in 2006, dropped the first set, gave up a break in the decider and was 1/4 down in the tiebreak before triumphing after three hours and 13 minutes on court.
His 20 aces helped alleviate the damage caused by 15 double faults as the 10,000-strong home crowd at the Palacio de Deportes was stunned into silence by Croatia who were runners-up to Russia in the 2021 final.
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However, he admitted that the absence of US Open champion Alcaraz and 22-time Grand Slam title winner Nadal played into the hands of Croatia who had lost all of their three previous Davis Cup meetings with Spain.