In the second match of the Davis Cup final 2018, the favoured single player also prevailed: Marin Cilic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with 6:3, 7:5 and 6:4 and set a score of 2:0 against defending champions France. All games of the Davis Cup finals are live on DAZN.
After 1:48 hours of playing time, the turning point was finally announced: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had earned two break points and could have gone 3-1. But in fact Marin Cilic made everything clear in the following minutes. On the one hand the Croat served four times at or on the line, Tsonga could only return, if at all, in such a way that Cilic had few problems to make the point.
And as if from the great tennis almanac, the 2014 US Open champion immediately followed suit, Tsonga’s serve took him to 3:2 – and that after Cilic had already won the first two sets 6:3 and 7:5 in front of almost 20,000 spectators.
As expected, Croatia will lead 2-0 against the French hosts after the first day of the 2018 Davis Cup Final in Lille. Borna Coric had not had much trouble in the opening match with Jeremy Chardy, also won in three sets.
France captain Yannick Noah had presented a surprise by nominating Tsongas, while Cilic, who had been eliminated last week at the ATP Finals in London after only one win in the preliminary round, was not impressed. The best placed player of the last Davis Cup final played according to the traditional mode served too well.
Tsonga had to fight a lot harder at his service games, but was far too seldom in a position to be offensive as a backfighter. At the moment, the Frenchman is only on position 265 in the ATP world rankings. After an injury break of several months, he did not want to achieve any big successes in autumn 2018.
The hopes of the home team lie in Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The reigning French Open champions reached the final at the end of the season in London, where they lost to Jack Sock and Mike Bryan in the match tiebreak.
On Saturday Herbert and Mahut will meet veteran Ivan Dodig and his partner Mate Pavic.