SPLIT, Croatia (AP)—Croatia's Marin Cilic has beaten Serbia's Viktor Troicki 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 as the rival Balkan nations finished the first day of their Davis Cup quarterfinal tied at 1-1.
Troicki had a set point in the second set before Cilic rallied to win five straight games and then take the final set Friday on the hard court at Spaladium Arena.
In the opening singles match, Novak Djokovic had given Serbia a 1-0 lead by beating Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-1.
The two former Yugoslav republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, are meeting for the first time in the Davis Cup.
Croatia won the Cup in 2005. Serbia is playing in its first quarterfinals.
Doubles are set for Saturday and reverse singles are Sunday.