Coric, Cilic put Croatia on brink of Davis Cup title

Croatia moved to the brink of a second Davis Cup title on Friday as straight-set victories for Marin Cilic and Borna Coric gave them a 2-0 lead over reigning champions France in the final.

The visitors were dominant throughout the day in front of a capacity crowd at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille as Yannick Noah's France failed make the most of home advantage and the clay court.

Coric got Croatia off to the best possible start with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 thrashing of Jeremy Chardy, who was a surprise selection by Noah ahead of Benoit Paire and Lucas Pouille, the highest-ranked member of the French squad.

World number seven Cilic then made short work of an injury-hit Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who needed to take a medical timeout during the third set before succumbing 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

"I didn't lose my serve in the match and I played outstanding tennis throughout," said Cilic.

"I am able to play all three days. I often play all three days in Davis Cup. We will see with the captain (Zeljko Krajan)."
"In the dressing room we wondered if he would retire from the match, but we thought that there where too many people here and that we still had to play."
"I'm especially proud of my players' mentality," said skipper Krajan. "The way they handled the matches and the pressure of the crowd, they were very focused, very motivated."
- Coric sees off Chardy -
=========================