Croatia Reaches Davis Cup Final After Eliminating Serbia, Novak Djokovic

Serbia was defeated by Croatia in the semi-finals on Friday, ending Novak Djokovic's goal of adding a second Davis Cup championship to his 20 Grand Slam wins.

In the crucial doubles game, Djokovic and partner Filip Krajinovic were defeated 7-5, 6-1 by Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic, the Olympic and Wimbledon champions. Djokovic had earlier kept Serbia alive by defeating Marin Cilic for the 18th time.

Croatia, who won the Davis Cup in 2005 and 2018, will meet either Russia or Germany in the final on Sunday.  

Djokovic, who hasn't lost a singles match in the tournament since 2011, won 6-4, 6-2 to draw the game at 1-1. It was his 19th Davis Cup singles victory in a row. Borna Gojo ranked 279th in the world, surprised world number 33 Dusan Lajovic by winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first rubber. Cilic who was a former world number three but is now at 30, created eight break points on Djokovic's serve but failed to convert any of them.

The world number one ended his 2021 season with a heartbreaking loss for Serbia. Earlier his hopes for his first Olympic singles gold medal also saw an end in Tokyo.