It is the quarter-final round of Davis Cup World Group, and Croatia holds a perfect 3-0 score in the history of Davis Cup clashes with the American team
Croatian Davis Cup team is in Portland, USA, and on July 15. 2016 they will start their effort to reach semifinals of the Davis Cup against the home team.
Friday’s singles play will first feature world No. 26 and the United States’ No. 2 player Jack Sock against Croatia’s top player and world No. 12 Marin Cilic. Sock and Cilic have never faced each other on the ATP World Tour.
Sock made his debut on the U.S. Davis Cup team last year in the World Group Playoff in Uzbekistan, where he won both of his singles matches, becoming the first American since John McEnroe in 1978 to win two live rubbers in a Davis Cup debut. He holds a 2-1 record in Davis Cup singles play.
Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open singles title and 14 ATP singles titles, holds an 18-8 singles record in Davis Cup play, competing in his first tie in 2006.
In the second match of the day, world No. 16 and the United States’ top player John Isner will face off against world No. 54 Borna Coric.
Isner and Coric have also never faced each other on the ATP Tour. Isner, who played in this year’s World Group First Round in Australia, holds a 10-9 singles record in Davis Cup competition, while Coric is 4-4, playing in his first tie in 2013, where he faced Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in his first-ever singles match.
Croatia holds a 3-0 record over the United States in Davis Cup, one of only three countries that hold a winning record over the U.S. The U.S. Team and Croatia met in the 2009 World Group Quarterfinal in Porec, Croatia, in which Croatia won 3-2 with Cilic and Ivo Karlovic leading the team. The two teams also met in the 2005 World Group First Round in Los Angeles and in the 2003 World Group First Round in Zagreb, Croatia