Coric, 21, considered one of the top young players in the game, said he had never before even come close to landing such a difficult shot. “I normally go somehow around my back,” he said. “But I just felt that I can do it. It was not such an important point, so I just did it. Honestly I never do it in practice as well, so I don’t know how it was that good, to be honest. It was really luck.” Moments earlier, the 18th-ranked Coric had landed a delicate forehand drop-shot winner to close out a close second-set tiebreaker. “He came up with some good stuff today,” Johnson said. The winner of the best-of-five series will meet either France, the defending champion, or Spain in the final. In Lille, France, Benoît Paire overcame nerves to win in his Davis Cup debut and Lucas Pouille won a five-set battle to give France a 2-0 lead over Spain.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>ZADAR, Croatia (AP) -- The men on the United States' Davis Cup team are treading very carefully over Serena Williams' insinuation that sexism played a role in the code violations she received during the U.S. Open final. Then again, Steve Johnson, Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison are about to come face to face with Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire who penalized Williams and who is also handling their best-of-five semifinal against Croatia this weekend. ''It's been polarized and in some ways politicized,'' U.S. captain Jim Courier told The Associated Press on Thursday. ''But we have no doubt that Carlos was just enforcing the rules as he sees them.'' Williams was given three code violations by Ramos in her straight-set loss to Naomi Osaka of Japan on Saturday, with the American player and critics arguing she wasn't treated the same as some male players. ''Look, I don't want this to come out the wrong way,'' Johnson said. ''But he enforced rules that have been enforced on me over the years. ''I've never been called for coaching, but the racket abuse, the verbal abuse,'' Johnson added. ''That's just part of the sport. I think a lot of it maybe got over-amplified because it was the finals of the U.S. Open.'' USTA president and CEO Katrina Adams was overheard apologizing to Ramos on the sidelines of the draw ceremony. A USTA spokesman said Adams was not speaking to media, while Ramos was not available for questions. Courier said there was nothing to discuss with his team over Ramos. ''We're here to play; Carlos is here to umpire; and we don't expect anything out of the ordinary,'' Courier said. While Ramos is known as a stickler for the rules, the U.S. team won't have to worry about coaching violations since captains sit court-side during Davis Cup matches and are permitted to give advice throughout the match. Story continues During the final against Osaka, Williams got a warning for violating a rarely enforced rule against receiving coaching from the sidelines. An indignant Williams emphatically defended herself, denying she had cheated. A short time later, she smashed her racket in frustration and was docked a point. She protested and demanded an apology from the umpire, who penalized her a game. ''He's always been a fair, level-headed guy and made a decision in the heat of the moment. If it was wrong or right, I'm not the judge,'' said Bryan, a doubles specialist. ''I think we're all cognizant of the fact that three strikes and you're going to get a game penalty,'' Bryan added. ''I don't think we would ever try to push it that far, especially in this Davis Cup format - we're not going to dock our country a game. You don't really crack rackets or berate umpires in this format; you kind of look to your team for support.'' Marin Cilic, Croatia's top player, also had nothing but respect for Ramos. Although Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, noted: ''I'm not a guy that gets too many code violations. ... I'm quite cool.'' The 51st-ranked Harrison, who was called in as a late replacement for the injured Jack Sock, said the women's final ''was a very touchy situation.'' ''It's hard to say one side or the other without causing a big stir,'' Harrison said. ''In a situation where we know Serena is unbelievable; she's iconic; and we know that Carlos is there because he's worthy of being there for those matches. ''I know Carlos and I know he's not looking to put himself in a difficult position. I truly believe he was trying to do what he felt like was right at the time and always in heated situations it's going to be a very sticky, sticky spot whenever it's in a Grand Slam final like that.'' Against Croatia, Johnson will face Borna Coric in Friday's opening singles match, followed by Cilic versus Davis Cup debutant Frances Tiafoe. In Saturday's doubles, Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic will face Bryan and Harrison. The reverse singles are on Sunday. The winner will meet either France or Spain in the final. The Americans are missing their top two players: No. 10 John Isner is staying home while his wife awaits the birth of their child, and Sock hurt his hip en route to winning the U.S. Open doubles title with Bryan. ''The one thing we know about Davis Cup is that rankings rarely matter,'' Courier said. ''Davis Cup is highly unpredictable and playing for your country can affect people in different ways, shapes and forms.'' --- More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports<doc-sep>ZADAR, Croatia — The doubles specialist Mike Bryan’s decision to come out of Davis Cup retirement gave the United States a much-needed lift on Saturday. Bryan, 40, teamed with Ryan Harrison for the first time and helped the Americans outlast Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic, 7-5, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), over nearly five hours to cut Croatia’s lead to 2-1 in their semifinal. “It’s great to win one for the country — 7-6 in the fifth, on the road and on dirt — this is right up there, and I will never forget this one,” Bryan said. In Sunday’s reverse singles, sixth-ranked Marin Cilic will face the American Steve Johnson, and Borna Coric will meet the Davis Cup rookie Frances Tiafoe.<doc-sep>
The doubles team of Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison kept the United States’ hopes alive with a marathon win over host Croatia in Davis Cup action on Saturday. Slideshow ( 3 images ) Down 2-0 after singles play, Bryan, the world’s No. 1 doubles player, and Harrison outlasted Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 7-5, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5) in a match that lasted nearly five hours. Dodig and Pavic are ranked fourth in the world in doubles. Croatia is looking to beat the U.S. for the fifth straight time and still has two chances to advance to the final in Sunday’s singles. No. 6-ranked Marin Cilic, who beat Davis Cup newcomer Frances Tiafoe in the second match, faces American Steve Johnson in Sunday’s first match. Borna Coric is scheduled to take on Tiafoe in the finale. The matches are being played outdoors on clay at Kresimir Cosic Hall in Zadar, Croatia. France 3, Spain 0 A pair of veterans helped host France clinch a return to the Davis Cup final for the defending champions. Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, both 36, beat Marcel Granollers and Feliciano López, 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (7) to assure the victory. Benoit Paire and Lucas Pouille both won their singles matches on Friday to open the 2-0 lead on the hard indoor surface at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, France. France, which was won the title 10 times, is looking to be the first repeat winner since the Czech Republic in 2012-13. --Field Level Media