TURIN, Italy -- Italy beat Croatia in the doubles match to take a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup first round on Saturday.
Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli took 3 hours, 17 minutes to beat Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (11).
Fognini converted Italy's fifth match-point with an ace in the tiebreaker.
Italy needs only one win from Sunday's reverse singles to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1998, when it won the competition.
It would also be the first time Italy has beaten Croatia in three meetings.