By Croatia! What the hell? Just when you think you’re beginning to familiarize yourself with patterns in tennis, something like this happens.
Croatia eliminated the United States from the Davis Cup on Sunday after Marin Cilic beat James Blake for an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the quarterfinals.
Cilic won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on indoor clay to give Croatia its first semifinal berth since winning the competition in 2005. The final score was 3-2 to Croatia after American doubles specialist Bob Bryan beat Roko Karanusic 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a meaningless final match.
The Americans, the 32-time champions, have lost all three meetings against Croatia in the Davis Cup, after defeats in 2003 and 2005. The U.S., which won the competition two years ago, was bidding to reach the semifinals for the fourth straight year.
The Croats will take on the Czech Republic at home in September. The Czechs beat Argentina 3-2 on Sunday.
Considering the U.S. team is playing without Andy Roddick, it’s not so bad that they lost to a talented Croatian squad. Roddick had to withdraw due to a hip injury induced by his lengthy match against Roger Federer in the Wimbledon finals.
