The 21-year-old clinched the decisive rubber after
Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty had earlier kept his country's Davis Cup hopes alive
with a nerve-shredding 4-6 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4 victory over Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic
to level the final at 2-2.
Ancic had not won a singles match during
Croatia's march to the finals but pooled the performance of a lifetime to
record one of
the greatest moments in Croatia's sporting
history.
Croatia, who like Slovakia were unseeded, are only the 12th
nation to win the title in more than 100 years of the
competition's
history.
BRATISLAVA/ZAGREB, Dec 4 (Hina) - Croatia won the Davis Cup for thefirst time on Sunday when Mario Ancic beat Slovakia's Michal Mertinak7-6 6-3 6-4 to give Croatia a 3-2 victory in the finals held inBratislava's Sibamac Arena.
BRATISLAVA/ZAGREB, Dec 4 (Hina) - Croatia won the Davis Cup for
the first time on Sunday when Mario Ancic beat Slovakia's Michal Mertinak 7-6
6-3 6-4 to give Croatia a 3-2 victory in the finals held in Bratislava's
Sibamac Arena.