OSIJEK, Feb. 3 -- Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig used all their experience and fighting spirit to beat Canadian Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in five sets 2-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, after being down two sets and 1-4 in the third, to put Croatia one step away from the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup.
Croatian captain Zeljko Krajan who celebrated his 39th birthday on Saturday thanked Cilic and Dodig for the best birthday present after giving his team a 2-1 overall lead in the World Group first round.
"When you are in this business you can't get a nicer present that going through all the different emotions and phases of a tennis match. This was the best possible present," Krajan said after the greatest comeback win during his career as Croatian captain.
"I believe that we would be very hard to beat if we would play more often as a team but I know that this is not possible because Marin and I have different priorities," Ivan Dodig said after the match.
For Marin Cilic this was his 34th win in Davis Cup that put him one ahead of his former coach Goran Ivanisevic and just two behind Ivan Ljubicic who leads the list of the most successful Croatian players in this competition.
Cilic and Dodig are the fourth Croatian pair that managed such a turnaround in Davis Cup matches. Goran Ivanisevic did it once with Sasa Hirszon against Norway in 1994 and three times when his partner was Ivan Ljubicic: in 2001 against Italy in Rome, in 2002 in Buenos Aires versus Argentina and in 2003 against Team USA in Zagreb. In 2006 against Austria in Graz, Ivan Ljubicic partnered Mario Ancic to beat home team after losing the first two sets.
"It's a good thing that in Davis Cup matches we play best of five sets. After the third set we played on the highest level, just like we did in 2016 when we reached the final," Dodig said.
On the other side there were no smiling faces in the Canadian team.
"It was a tough one to lose. We had an upper hand and were a better team in the first part of the match. Momentum shifted in the third set when crowd got into it and they elevated their game. It was tough to get anything going after that third set," 27-year old Vasek Pospisil said after one of the toughest Davis Cup losses.
However painful the final result was, Canadian captain Frank Dancevic was not disappointed with the performance of his doubles team.
"I think it was an incredible turnaround from their part. I knew going in that these guys are one of the best teams in Davis Cup. I thought it was an incredible battle to take these guys in five sets and get so close to win the match. That's all I can ask from my players as a captain, to do on the court what they did, and I thought that they did an amazing job," Dancevic said.
On Sunday, 21-year old Borna Coric and 18-year old Denis Shapovalov will play in the first of the two reverse singles matches. If a young Canadian would win and push the tie to a decisive fifth rubber, Croatia has a huge weapon for that match.
"It's a big bonus to have No. 3 player in the world waiting on the bench for the last match," Croatian captain Zeljko Krajan said and Marin Cilic confirmed he is ready to step in.
"I don't feel tired. I think that this doubles match helped me in a way to get my rhythm back. I will be ready to play the fifth match."
That's a good news for the home crowd and not so good for team Canada that wait for the away-win in Davis Cup since September 2011.