World number one Novak Djokovic was beaten in five sets by Borna Coric in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters
2017 Davis Cup semi-final Croatia 1-2 Serbia (Croatia lead 3-2) Friday – Ivan Dodig (Croatia) beat Viktor Troicki (Serbia) 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 Saturday – Borna Coric (Croatia) beat Viktor Troicki (Serbia) 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) Sunday – Ivan Dodig (Croatia) beat Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 7-6 (7-4) Sunday – Borna Coric (Croatia) beat Dusan Lajovic (Serbia) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-4
Serbia’s hopes of reaching the Davis Cup final suffered a major blow when they were beaten 2-1 by Croatia in the semi-finals.
World number one Novak Djokovic was beaten by Borna Coric in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters, prompting a huge roar from the Croat fans in Rijeka.
Djokovic lost 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-4) and will not play in the final four ties, with Coric booking a place in the final.
Croatia are aiming to become the first nation to win the Davis Cup without any of their top-four players.
Croatia’s Marin Cilic, the world number five, made an inspired start to the semi-final as he beat Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 6-4 6-2 in Friday’s opener.
“It was one of those days where I lost my rhythm, especially at the beginning,” said Djokovic.
“I told myself it was not worth losing the match in the second. I told myself to take risks, I’ve done it throughout the year. When I was 0-30 on my serve in the second set, I said ‘be brave and don’t take the match away from me’ and I think I did.
“The confidence is there. It was just a match that did not go our way. I made too many mistakes. But I know that I can win in front of big crowds. I will prepare myself to play for another week.”
Croatia captain Zeljko Krajan said: “He is the kind of player that can put these losses behind him.
“He is a winner and this is not going to stop him from winning the US Open in the next few weeks.”
Defending champions Belgium have also sealed their place in the World Group semi-finals.
They beat Croatia 3-2 (tie level at 2-2 going into the final day), overcoming Marin Cilic, the world number six, who won his doubles match against Steve Darcis and Ruben Bemelmans.
Belgium will meet either United States or France in next month’s semi-finals, with the Americans winning their semi-final 2-1 in Lille on Friday and the French taking a 2-0 lead against Colombia in Roissy-en-France.
Belgium can now look forward to a meeting with either Croatia or France in September, with their last-four ties yet to be decided.