Written by
The Sports Network
Hyogo, Japan (Sports Network) - Ivo Karlovic defeated Go Soeda in the final
match of the weekend, as Croatia downed host Japan, 3-2, to reach the
Davis Cup quarterfinals in April.
Japan's Kei Nishikori handled Ivan Dodig 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in Sunday's
first reverse singles rubber to level the best-of-five tie at 2-all, but the
6-foot-10 Karlovic won in a tiebreak in the first set, then cruised through
the next two stanzas in a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Soeda in the fifth and
deciding bout. The big-serving Karlovic smacked 17 aces on the indoor
hardcourt at Bourbon Beans Dome.
Croatia will face last year's Davis Cup runner-up Argentina in the round of
eight, while Japan is facing a promotion/relegation playoff in September.
The two countries split Friday's opening singles when Soeda and Karlovic
posted wins in Hyogo, and Croatia, captained by Zeljko Krajan, took the
doubles match on Saturday behind Karlovic and Dodig.
This was the first-ever Davis Cup meeting between these two nations.
Croatia captured its lone Davis Cup title in 2005, while Japan has only ever
reached one final, and that resulted in a loss against the 32-time champion
United States way back in 1921.
The Sports Network