Davis Cup glory for Argentina

Del Potro, who has got a new lease in his career in recent months after struggling with wrist injuries for several years, acknowledged the Croatian’s formidability.

Argentina is the eighth nation to rally from 1-2 down and first since Serbia completed the comeback in 2010. Croatia is targeting its second title after beating Slovakia in the final in 2005. “Juan Martin won an incredible match and Federico played the match of his life”.

Daniel Orsanic: ‘We tried to win the title for a such long time and we deserved it.

“We were one set away from winning the title but we knew Del Potro was capable of staging a comeback”, he said. “We could have lost, but the guys were wonderful today”. “Federico played a ideal match under huge pressure. As for me, most of what I saw of Cilic this year was on TV”.

“It’s a very hard defeat to take, although I am pleased with the level of my tennis”, he said.

No serves were lost in the first set, with the Croatian pair taking the lead in the tie break with 3-0 and 4-1.

The matchup between Del Potro and Cilic was a nail-biter all the way through, as the Argentine went down to a two-set disadvantage but then clawed his way back in an emotional and spectacular performance before some 15,000 spectators at the Zagreb Arena.

He broke Cilic in the 12th and 10th games in the third and fourth sets respectively to send the match into the decider.

Del Potro fought back in the seventh game with Cilic under pressure at deuce. In the end, Cilic maintained his composure to clinch the opening encounter with a scoreline of 6-3 7-5 3-6 1-6 6-2. He sealed the win on his first match point when Cilic netted a backhand return, extending his FedEx ATP Head2Head lead to 9-2. He is a really nice guy but tomorrow I face a big challenge in a must-win match against an in-form player. He also reached the quarter-finals of the US Open. That match starts at 3 pm.

The Davis Cup is a first-to-three format with each win awarding a single point. The Danes started the final day in Melbourne with a four-shot cushion, and seven birdies, combined with a single bogey, gave them the win on 20 under.

Although the Croatians won in straight sets here on Saturday, the match was decided by just a handful of big points.