ZADAR, Croatia — Croatia — just barely — is going to the Davis Cup final.
After eight hours of tennis on Sunday, Borna Coric ended a sustained comeback bid from the United States by rallying from two sets to one down to beat Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (0), 6-1, 6-7 (11), 6-1, 6-3 in the fifth and decisive match of a topsy-turvy semifinal.
Seeking its second title, Croatia will visit defending champion France in the Nov. 23-25 final.
Earlier, substitute Sam Querrey had rallied from a deep hole to keep the U.S. alive.
Querrey, who was playing in place of Steve Johnson, beat sixth-ranked Marin Cilic 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 to even the best-of-five series at 2-2.
Cilic and Coric won the opening two singles matches Friday in straight sets but Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison began an American comeback with a doubles victory Saturday that was decided in a fifth-set tiebreaker over nearly five hours.
Still, it’s Croatia — which won its only title in 2005 — going to its second final in three years.
Coric took an early break in the fifth set then broke again to conclude a match that lasted more than four hours.
When Tiafoe’s backhand landed in the net on Coric’s first match point, Coric’s teammates rushed out onto the clay court and swarmed around him, jumping up and down in celebration.
Coric broke free briefly to go over and shake Tiafoe’s hand once the American had already sat in his chair. The celebrations continued as the Croatia team danced around Coric in a circle.
It was a memorable first career meeting between the 40th-ranked Tiafoe — who was making his Davis Cup debut — and the 18th-ranked Coric, both of whom are considered future stars of the game.
While Coric proved more consistent in the end, Tiafoe’s ability to run down shot after shot dragged many points on longer than expected.
Earlier, Cilic wasted a 6-1 lead in the second-set tiebreaker then completely fell apart with a series of errors under pressure from the big-serving Querrey.
“I just hung in there,” said Querrey, who jumped into the arms of U.S. captain Jim Courier to celebrate. “After being 6-1 down in the tiebreak, I just played aggressively and from then on the pressure just builds.”
“I just missed my opportunities in the second-set tiebreak — five set points obviously,” Cilic said. “Afterwards I felt Sam served really well in the third and fourth sets. I didn’t have many chances on his serve — really, really exceptional serving from him.
“And from my side I just wasn’t able to find good rhythm off the return, off the ground. I was just missing some balls that I was not missing usually and gave him an opportunity to stay in the match,” Cilic added. “My level today was not at the top.”
It was also a memorable win for Querrey, who had never beaten Cilic in six previous meetings and whose ranking has fallen from 11th to No. 61 this year.
Querrey’s previous match was a first-round loss to Andreas Seppi at the US Open in which he retired in the fourth set due to cramps.
“It’s one of the best matches of my career. That’s for sure,” Querrey said. “Considering my year, it’s been tough lately so this is a huge boost.”
In a matchup featuring two players standing 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), Querrey was the more efficient server. While both struck 16 aces, Querrey led in every other category and averaged 132 mph (213 kph) on his first serves to Cilic’s 126 mph (204 kph).
Croatia extended its perfect record over the U.S. to 5-0.
Spain salvages pride against France
LILLE, France — In a contest with nothing at stake except pride, Marcel Granollers of Spain defeated Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-7 (2), 6-3, 13-11 in the final singles match of their Davis Cup semifinal on Sunday.
France sealed its spot in the final on Saturday when Julien Benneteau and Mahut won the doubles to give the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Earlier Sunday, Richard Gasquet lost 1-6, 6-4, 14-12 to Albert Ramos-Vinolas meaning France advanced with a 3-2 win.
France, which reached back-to-back finals for the first time since 2002, will either face Croatia in the final.
Spain was without top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who was ruled out because of the right-knee injury that forced him to retire from his US Open semifinal against Juan Martin del Potro.
Britain tops Uzbekistan to earn seeding for qualifying tournament
GLASGOW, Scotland — Britain will be seeded in the qualifying tournament of the revamped Davis Cup next year after beating Uzbekistan.
Cameron Norrie beat Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 to give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead over Uzbekistan in their World Group playoff on Sunday. After the captains were consulted, it was decided Sunday’s final match — a dead rubber between Daniel Evans and Jurabek Karimov — wouldn’t be played.
The revamped Davis Cup will see a World Cup-style tournament take place in November 2019, with qualifying taking place in February.
Britain captain Leon Smith says “now the decision has been made about the new format we have to embrace it. We want to be part of it. It will be exciting doing something different.”
Thiem seals Austria’s win over Australia
GRAZ, Austria — Dominic Thiem overcame a spirited fightback by Alex de Minaur to give Austria a 3-1 victory over Australia in a Davis Cup World Group playoff on Sunday.
The eighth-ranked Austrian won 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 but had to come back twice from a break down in the fourth set.
The meaningless last singles rubber, between Dennis Novak and Jordan Thompson, was canceled.
Thiem and Novak won the singles on Friday to give the hosts a 2-0 lead, but Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt teamed with John Peers to win the doubles rubber the following day and keep the tie open.
The result means that Austria, which last played in the World Group in 2013, will be seeded for the 24-team qualifying round of the revamped Davis Cup in February.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.