Davis’ quarter-final in Malaga rewards Cilic and Coric, who close the accounts by beating Carreno Busta and Bautista respectively
It ends 2-0 for Croatia to beat hosts Spain, Wednesday night’s quarter-final. Without Alcaraz injured and Nadal engaged in some performances in South America, Roberto Bautista and Pablo Carreno Busta fail to take Spain to the semifinals where Borna Coric and Marin Cilic fly instead who didn’t even need to pull Mektc’s super double out of the hat -Pavic. Two times winners (2005 and 2018), two more times finalists (2016, 2021), in Malaga Vedran Martic’s team will challenge Australia for a place in the final.
CORIC VA
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The first point for the Croatians came thanks to Borna Coric who overcame Roberto Bautista 6-4 7-6(4). A bad blow for the almost ten thousand of the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Malaga. Coric, also on the field in the last bowl won by his country, beat the Spaniard in Cincinnati last August. In the Masters 1000 on American hard courts, Coric returned to the Top 30, recovering over 130 positions. “I haven’t served so well since Cincinnati,” admitted Coric, scorer of 12 aces. The shoulder injury that forced Borna to stay out of action for almost a year almost seems like a memory: “I’m still not entirely pain free but now that I’m playing I can’t make things worse – he said -. And gaining this awareness from mentally it’s the most important thing. I have to handle the pain, and I think I can do it well.”
CILIC TO THE THIRD
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Despite one of the worst serving performances ever, in the third set Marin Cilic, protagonist of the Croatian triumph in 2018, defeated 5-7 6-3 7-6(5) Pablo Carreno Busta, champion in 2019 in the first edition with the new formed at the Caja Magica in Madrid by definitively eliminating the hosts: “It was a very even match. At the beginning I played more aggressive, but he made more mistakes with his backhand and forehand and that made things easier for me – he said said Carreno Busta after the match – From the second set, however, he began to put a lot of pressure on me in response, and I was finding it increasingly difficult to stay in the match. But I never gave up, I knew that with the help of the public I would have I recovered twice from a break disadvantage in the third set, I had the opportunity to close the match at 6-5 0-30 on his serve, but Cilic played very well. And then he hit me two winners from 4 -1 in the tie-break I think I played a good par tita, but he did better than me and won”.
November 24, 2022 (change November 24, 2022 | 00:34)
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