Photo: DavisCup.com
Croatian tennis players Marin Čilić and Ivo Karlović teamed up in doubles play to take on Argentina’s David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank Saturday afternoon in Buenos Aires in the Davis Cup quarterfinal round. With world #10 Juan Martin del Potro defeating Karlović in straight sets on Friday in singles play and Čilić edging out Nalbandian 6-3 in the fifth set, the doubles match would be the rubber game going into Sunday’s final two singles matches. The winner will go on to play Serbia or the Czech Republic in the semifinals.
The Croatians came out hot winning the first set 6-3 and forcing a second set tiebreaker, ultimately losing 8-6. Team Argentina took control of the match in the third set, breaking the Croatians early and winning 6-3. But behind the bazooka serve of Karlović, the Croatians would not be denied until the end in Buenos Aires, taking the fourth set via tiebreaker and going the distance in the fifth and final set. However, the home crowd was too much for Čilić and Karlović as they lost at the death, 8-6.
Photo: DavisCup.com
For Croatia to reach the semifinals of the 2012 Davis Cup, Marin Čilić will have to beat the mighty Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday AND Ivo Karlović must defeat David Nalbandian. It won’t be an easy task for Team Croatia, as Argentina will have the home crowd behind them with the matches being played on a tricky clay surface.
Match Point
@JerseyCro
Thank you for the news on the handball.
Cilic got absolutely hammered by Del Potro
In other sports; the handball team easily qualified for the 2012 London Olympics after two wins over Japan and Chile. They play a meaningless game against Iceland today. Draw takes place on May 30, only one more spot remains and its between Serbia or Poland